Has Russia deployed trained dolphins to man Black Sea amid Ukraine war?

The war between Russia and Ukraine has stretched into its third month, with the military forces of both the countries experiencing a high number of casualties, as per media reports. To battle the loss of human life on the forces, Russia has reportedly started relying on another group of mammals.

Russia has not resorted to relying on a pod of trained dolphins, which have been deployed near the Black Sea naval base. According to reports, these dolphins have been deployed in the region to protect Russia against any potential Ukrainian naval attack.

Commercial firm Maxar and the US Naval Institute (USNI) have studied the satellite images that have emerged from the war-torn countries, spotting a pod of dolphins that seemed to be doing surveillance of the Black Sea naval port.

According to the two agencies, two transportable dolphin pens were moved to the Sevastopol harbor in February, which was when Russia had launched its first attack against Ukraine, sparking a conflict between the neighbouring countries.

While studying the satellite images, the USNI has predicted that these dolphins may be deployed to prevent Ukrainian divers from infiltrating the base and launching an attack through the sea, which might sabotage the Russian warships.

Russian authorities have recently said that their new goal in the midst of the invasion is to seize control of the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine. Recently, Russia has also launched two missiles at the capital city of Kyiv while the UN chief was visiting the country.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been advancing for over two months now. The war began when the Russian military crossed the border of Ukraine and launched a series of attacks on the country in February, leading to hundreds of casualties till now.

Recently, Russia experience a major blow after Ukrainian forces launched an anti-warship missile targeting the Moskva warship, which was a crucial weapon for the Russian military.

READ | Russia fire missiles into Kyiv as UN chief visits, US pledges military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine