Evaluation of satellite images
Dolphins in war: Animals are supposed to protect the Russian Black Sea Fleet from attacks
The training of the dolphins took place, among other things, in the dolphinarium of Sevastopol on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia (photo from 2014)
© Sergei Ilnitsky / DPA / Picture Alliance
Footage from space is said to show that Russia is using dolphins to protect its Black Sea fleet in the war against Ukraine. The Dolphin Relay has a long tradition.
They were already part of the repertoire of the Soviet and US armies in the 1960s, now they are apparently used by Russia in the war against Ukraine: dolphins in the service of the navy.
As the US newspaper “Washington Post” reports, citing the Maxar satellite photo service and the US Naval Institute, satellite images of the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula discovered two underwater enclosures intended to house the animals.
It is conceivable that the trained dolphins should be used to ward off enemy divers, it said. They could therefore try to sabotage Russian warships in the Black Sea port. Sevastopol is an important base for the Russian Navy.
Dolphins in the service of the Russian Navy
The Soviet Union began training dolphins for war in 1967. “They should protect the environment, track saboteurs and detect mines,” a former dolphin trainer from Sevastopol told the Welt newspaper in 2014. If a saboteur had sneaked into the harbor, the dolphins would have pushed a lever in the pool with their snouts, triggering an alarm, the trainer continued.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the animals went to the Ukrainian army before Russia took them over after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the “Tagesspiegel” reported at the time, among others. It is not known how many dolphins are in the service of the Russian military. According to the US Naval Institute, the training program has been expanded in recent years.
In addition to Russia, the United States also have squadrons of dolphins, which are the subject of many legends. However, experts regard rumors that the animals are also trained for targeted attacks on humans as dubious. “The stress would be too great for the animals, they would refuse further training after such a mission,” says the dolphin trainer from Sevastopol.
Armies around the world have numerous animals that serve military purposes. The US Army also trained sea lions, dogs are used for mine detection, among other things, as are rats. For example, the Bundeswehr has mules and horses to transport loads in rough terrain
Sources: “Washington Post”, US Naval Institute, “World”, “Daily Mirror”, armed forcesDPA news agency