The quantity of trained dolphins manning Russia’s Black Sea fleet has reportedly doubled, according to sources.
Their naval station and the Kremlin’s boats have been spotted with animal pens, according to Naval News.
It occurs at the same time as recent Ukraine drone assaults on Sevastopol, which is located in Crimea.
Compared to three or four at the beginning of the war, the website says that they have already trained six or seven dolphins.
Advanced technological devices mean they can detect targets and send a signal back to an operator.
They can also locate mines, threats and divers.
Moscow claims the animals, which were a part of an animal unit in Crimea, ‘defected’ to Russia after the area was annexed in 2014.
But in 2013 two-thirds of Russia’s military dolphins went absent without leave in the Black Sea so they could look for mates.
The US and Sweden have also trained dolphins to help guard their navies.
The Russian military is said to have been anxious ever since a major fire broke out in Sevastopol – the major port on the Black Sea home to the headquarters of the Russian fleet.
They blamed the fire on a Ukrainian drone, prompting speculation the strikes could be laying ground in preparation for counter-offensive attacks.
Plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the depot after the strike destroyed 10 tanks of petroleum products with total capacity of 40,000 tons, according to Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (GUR).
‘[The strike] is one of the elements of preparation for a counteroffensive’, said Natalya Gumenyuk, spokeswoman for the South Operational Command of the Armed Forces.