The British Ministry of Defense in its daily review of the situation in Ukraine writes that Russian troops have recently significantly strengthened the defense of the Sevastopol Bay in the annexed Crimea. As satellite images show, at least four lines of nets and booms were installed at the entrance to the bay.
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In addition, according to British military intelligence, the number of enclosures in the bay, which are believed to contain specially trained marine mammals, has doubled in the past few weeks.
Most likely, bottlenose dolphins are kept in them, which are probably trained to resist enemy divers, the authors of the review believe, adding that in the waters of the Arctic, the Russian Navy also uses fighting beluga whales and seals.
Last protection Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine — 23 June 2023.
Learn more about Defense Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/ALCbH4WFSc
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— Ministry of Defense (@DefenceHQ) June 23, 2023
The Sevastopol Oceanarium, where training with dolphins was held in favor of the Ukrainian Navy, was included in the Russian Navy after the occupation of Crimea. At the Ministry of Defense, the Russians first stated that they did not see “the need to train marine animals for military purposes,” but then it became known that the Russian department was purchasing new animals for the oceanarium in Sevastopol.
Fighting dolphins, as stated, were also involved in the protection of the Crimean bridge.
On April 28, 2022, The Guardian, citing the US Naval Institute, reported that the analysis of satellite images helped to reveal the fact that two dolphin enclosures were transported to the Sevastopol port base in February 2022. The publication then wrote about the “probable training of” military “dolphins to protect the Russian fleet from an underwater attack.”
The British Ministry of Defense devoted one of its reviews in June to how Russia is strengthening land defense lines away from the front, in particular in the Crimea. According to British intelligence, this may indicate that the Russian command is afraid of a direct offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the peninsula.
On June 22, the administrations of the occupied Crimea and the Kherson region announced that the Ukrainian military had attacked a bridge near Chongar connecting the peninsula and the region. The bridge, according to them, was fired with Storm Shadow missiles, the most long-range weapon that is in the Armed Forces of Ukraine now.
Source: Racurs
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