Russia moves its combat dolphins closer to the frontline to defend against Ukrainian special forces, report says

• Russia moved its trained dolphin force to a different part of the Black Sea, Naval News reported.
• Dolphin pens appeared in Novoozerne, which is 56 miles northwest of where they were first spotted.

Russia has moved its navy-trained dolphins closer to where fighting is happening in the Ukraine war, Naval News reported on Wednesday.

Militarized dolphin pens appeared at the southern naval base in the town of Novoozerne, in the western part of Crimea, Naval News reported, citing satellite images.

Crimea is a region of Ukraine that Russia annexed in 2014 and has controlled ever since. Russia's claim to Crimea has not been recognized internationally.

The pens were initially spotted in the summer around Sevastopol, a major port on the Black Sea. Novoozerne is 56 miles northwest of Sevastopol and much closer to where Ukrainian special forces have made incursions and landed on the Crimean peninsula.

They were likely moved in an effort to defend against constant Ukrainian attacks on Russia's Black Sea fleet, which includes attack submarines and vessels with long-range strike capabilities.

Placing dolphins at the mouth of the port could stop Ukrainian forces from getting into the harbor underwater, the United States Naval Institute said earlier this year.

Ukraine has become an increasingly threatening force in the Black Sea after it launched multiple attacks using underwater sea drones. It has also been successful in seizing vital gas platforms offshore.

Russia, which has a history of using marine animals in its military, has ramped up the number of marine mammal pens in and around the Black Sea in the last few months, the UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update in June.

The dolphins can detect any intruder, collect intelligence, or possibly even deliver a lethal strike.