How the Russian Navy has been using dolphins for war

Animal warfare is nothing new and, despite animal rights group, even today some military forces still use them. Russia is no exception to this.

Military news website Naval News reported in October 2023 that the Russian Navy has positioned trained dolphins close to the frontline as Ukraine ramps up the fight in the Black Sea.

Business Insider highlights that dolphin pens were originally found during the summer around Sevastopol, a major port in the Crimean Peninsula that has been under Russian control since 2014.

The occupied Sevastopol Naval Base is home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and, during the Soviet era, housed an aquarium to train dolphins for military objectives.

However, once the Soviet Union fell and Ukraine became independent, the Kyiv government took over the dolphin program.

According to the UK Ministry of Defence, and as reported by USA Today, the Russian Navy reinforced the security around the Sevastopol base in the summer of 2022, including doubling the number of animal pens.

This shows that there’s a possibility that the Russian Navy is training new sea mammals for warfare.

Using satellite images, Naval News reported that by October 2023 the dolphin pens have been moved from Sevastopol to the town of Novoozerne, northwest of the Russian Black Sea Fleet base.

Many experts believe that the Black Sea Fleet could play a pivotal role in changing the tide of the war in Moscow’s favor.

Novoozerne is home to a major Russian navy base and closer to the frontline, where the forces of Kyiv and Moscow constantly engage on.

Novoozerne has also been the focus of underwater attacks from Ukrainian divers, which Naval News highlights that dolphins are particularly effective against.

Among the advantages dolphins have on humans are their swimming speed and their inbuilt sonar, being pretty effective on alerting enemy presence.

Business Insider highlights that, other than detecting intruders underwater, the dolphins can also be useful in retrieving information or even giving the occasional fatal blow.

According to The Guardian, during the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union studied the military capabilities of using trained dolphins to retrieve objects or deter enemy divers.

The United States, The Guardian points out, keeps a 28-million-dollar military training program for dolphins, whales, and sea lions since the 1950s.

However, in the past years, there’s been talk about replacing these sea mammals with robots.

Forbes writes that by late 2023 a storm hit the Crimean Peninsula and there's a possibility that the dolphins have escaped to freedom. We can only hope.

Image: tj_fitzsimmons / Unsplash

This all begs the question: Is it ethical for animals to be involved in human warfare?