UK military spies said Russia appears to be training combat dolphins in the Crimean peninsula to counter Ukrainian forces. It may sound far fetched but in the latest update on the conflict, UK Defense Intelligence said the Russian Navy had invested heavily in security at the Black Sea Fleet's main base at Sevastopol since last year and according to the British it involves trained dolphins.

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"Imagery shows a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbor which highly likely contain bottle-nosed dolphins," it added. "This includes at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbor entrance. In recent weeks, these defenses have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals."

The animals were "likely intended to counter enemy divers," the UK claimed. The Russian Navy has used Beluga whales and seals for a range of missions in Arctic waters, the update said, however there is no evidence they were used in a military capacity.

'Hvaldimir'

A harness-wearing whale that turned up in Norway in 2019, sparking speculation it was being used for surveillance, reappeared off Sweden's coast last month. Norwegians nicknamed it "Hvaldimir" - a pun on the word "whale" in Norwegian (hval) and a nod to its alleged association with Russia.

Hvaldimir's harness had a mount suitable for housing an action camera, and the words "Equipment St. Petersburg" printed on the plastic clasps. But Moscow has not commented on the outlandish claims.

Both the Soviet Union and the U.S. used dolphins during the Cold War, training them to detect submarines, mines and spot suspicious objects or individuals near harbors and ships. A retired Soviet colonel told AFP news agency at the time that Moscow even trained dolphins to plant explosive devices on enemy vessels.

They knew how to detect abandoned torpedoes and sunken ships in the Black Sea, said Viktor Baranets, who witnessed military dolphin training in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras.

The U.S. Navy used sea lions deployed to Bahrain in 2003 to support Operation Enduring Freedom after the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.

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