Russia uses dolphins to protect its military base in Sevastopol, according to British intelligence

It’s the return of a practice straight out of a Cold War film. Russia has reinforced the security of its base in Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea, with the help of dolphins, the British government reported on Friday (June 23rd). The use of marine mammals for military purposes is an ancient practice that several armies, notably the American and Russian, have resorted to in recent decades.

In a regular update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense explained that Russia had made improvements “major” from its main base on the Black Sea since the summer of 2022. “This device includes at least four layers of nets and floating booms at the entrance to the port. In recent weeks, these defenses have most likely been reinforced by an increased number of trained marine mammals”writes the ministry on Twitter.

“Intended to counter enemy divers”

In April 2022, the United States Naval Institute claimed, with supporting satellite photos, that Russia had moved two dolphin enclosures to its Crimean base when it launched its military offensive in Ukraine. “In Arctic waters, the (Russian) Navy also uses beluga whales and seals”notes the British ministry on Friday. “Russia has trained animals for a whole range of missions, but those in the port of Sevastopol are most likely intended to counter enemy divers.”

Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in March 2014, had been home to a training center for marine mammals since 1965. After the fall of the USSR in 1991, this center was closed and its dolphins were sold to the Iran, according to Russian media. The Ukrainian navy had reopened the center in 2012, but after the annexation of the peninsula, it came under Moscow’s control.