The war also takes place under water. Satellite images sent to American media, including NBC, have shown the Crimean port of Sevastopol in the Black Sea for the past few days. Near a pontoon, we can see two small rectangles. After analyzes by the American Naval Institute, there is no doubt that these are dolphin enclosures.
Russia has deployed trained dolphins at the entrance to a key port in the Black Sea, apparently to protect a naval base from potential Ukrainian attacks, according to a review of satellite images by the commercial firm Maxar and the US Naval Institute. https://t.co/W4HNK8N7Ej
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 28, 2022
Specialists are certain that the Russians are training these mammals for use in the war in Ukraine. Dolphins are extremely intelligent animals. In a conflict, they are trained to watch the waters. They can, for example, prevent enemy divers from infiltrating ports and thus prevent sabotage on ships. These cetaceans dive very deep and thanks to their sonar system, which sends waves which are reflected on the objects they cross, they are extremely effective.
They can also be equipped with cameras for their camp to scan the seabed and enemy areas, according to US specialist HI Sutton. In 2019, a tame beluga was found in Norwegian waters. He wore a harness with a camera and the words “Saint-Petersburg equipment”. Proof that the Russians bet on these animals.
To train these dolphins, the Russians have chosen the port of Sevastopol because it is a key port. A large part of the Russian fleet is installed there. And in addition to its strategic location, Sevastopol has already hosted dolphin training. During the Soviet era, this base was used to… train mammals to search for mines and plant explosives on ships, according to The Moscow Times.
Even though animal advocates denounce this practice, the Russians have already used dolphins in other wars. In 2018, during the war in Syria, dolphins were sent to Tartous to counter divers and recover objects from the bottom of the sea. But the Russians are not the only ones to use the liveliness of these cetaceans. The United States too, as during the Vietnam War or in a port in Iraq in 2003 in search of mines for example. The Americans launched a research program in 1959 with dolphins. And since then they have spent tens of millions of dollars to replace them with robots. Without success. Nowadays, when we want to scrutinize the sea, dolphins remain the best spies there are.