Killer dolphins? How Russia's navy is using trained marine mammals in its war against Ukraine

Don't call them Flipper

A dolphin.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

Russia, wary of letting any more of its high-value Black Sea naval ships fall prey to Ukrainian missiles, is sheltering many of its vessels out of range in Sevastopol harbor in Crimea. And the entrance to the harbor is being guarded by military dolphins, according to satellite photos analyzed by The Washington Post and H.I. Sutton, a submarine analyst at the U.S. Naval Institute.

Is Russia's navy really using military dolphins as part of Moscow's Ukraine invasion, or is this story too good to check?

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.