Russia uses dolphins to protect its Novoozerne base

19 October, 2023 A trained dolphin with a video recording device and a radio beacon, Iraq, March 2003. Photo from open sources Russia has deployed its trained dolphins at the naval base in Novoozerne, Crimea.

This is supported by satellite images analyzed by Naval News. According to the newspaper, the facilities are located to the west of Novoozerne's main piers, next to the oyster farm's pier. Those facilities are not suitable for breeding oysters but have the same size and shape as the pens used by the Russian Navy for breeding dolphins.

According to OSINT researcher HI Sutton, the dolphins were transferred to Novoozerne, most likely to protect this part of the peninsula from Ukrainian special forces.

Infographic: Naval News

The facilities were set up in September this year when Ukrainian forces increased their activity in the northern Black Sea. At the time, the Ukrainian military seized offshore gas platforms controlled by Russia and raided military targets along the coast. Trained dolphins are capable of detecting a diver and either marking him for the military or even inflicting a fatal blow on a person.

The Russian Navy can use dolphins to protect ships from divers and fight reconnaissance divers. Trained animals can also patrol the coast with a video recording device and a radio beacon.

Trained dolphin in the service of the U.S. Navy.

Photo credits: U.S.

Navy

The UK Ministry of Defense first reported "trained marine mammals" in Sevastopol Bay in June 2023.

British intelligence recently noted that the number of such facilities had doubled.