- Scientists who study the Black Sea warn that dolphins are being killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
- One Ukrainian ecologist has said that "several thousands of dolphins have already died."
- The Turkish Marine Research Foundation has said the war is causing a "crisis in biodiversity."
Scientists are reporting many dolphin deaths, with Putin's invasion of Ukraine blamed for the spike.
Dolphins are washing up on the coastline of the Black Sea (which borders Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Romania, and Moldova), showing war-related injuries, including burn marks from bombs.
Ivan Rusev, research director at Ukraine's Tuzla Estuaries National Nature Park, has been documenting the 101 days of the war on his Facebook page, using his platform to raise awareness of the ecological effects of the invasion.
Writing on Facebook, Rusev explains how dolphins are washing up on shore with burns from bombs and landmines, internal injuries, and showing signs of not eating for days.
The ecologist states that the data collected by him and his team and other researchers around Europe show that "several thousand dolphins have already died."