Russian President Vladimir Putin has relocated a very special special unit to the Black Sea frontline: his combat dolphins. This is reported by the German news platform merkur.de, citing Newsweek.
According to the report, Russia has relocated its specially trained combat dolphins to Yevpatoria in the west of Crimea. They are said to be kept in cages off the coastal city. The article points to a Russian naval base in Novoozerne, not far from Yevpatoria, where corresponding dolphin enclosures have appeared. Novoozerne had repeatedly been a target of Ukrainian armed forces in the past.
According to an analysis by the German news platform WDR, the dolphins are capable of detecting sea mines with high explosive power. However, this results in many of the animals dying or being washed ashore with severe injuries on beaches and coasts. Already in April 2022, there had been reports that dolphins were fighting alongside Putin’s fleet. At that time, satellite images showed enclosures in the port of Sevastopol.
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (24.06.2023), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
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