Greenpeace Discussed the Impact of Russian Aggression on the Black Sea

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is causing significant damage to the Black Sea ecosystem and posing deadly threats to its inhabitants. Warships, missiles, explosions, sea mines, and water pollution are affecting porpoises, white-beaked dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. In recent years, new cases of unusual mass deaths among these animals have been recorded.

This is discussed in a report by Greenpeace Ukraine, authored by scientist Pavlo Goldin of the Shmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the BioEcoLinks project.

Three local subspecies of cetaceans inhabit the Black Sea: the porpoise, the common dolphin (white-beaked dolphin), and the bottlenose dolphin. According to the results of the 2019 aerial survey, their populations numbered at least 258,000 porpoises, 119,000 white-beaked dolphins, and 22,900 bottlenose dolphins.

Russian aggression has added unprecedented risks to the existing threats. The movement of military ships, submarines, and aircraft, as well as missile strikes, bombings, and underwater explosions, generate intense underwater noise. This causes stress for marine mammals, and loud, pulsed sounds can be deadly.

Another threat is sea mines. According to the report, in 2022, the Russian navy laid at least hundreds of mines, which later became loose and drifted along the Black Sea coast. Unexploded ordnance on the seafloor also poses a danger. Their explosions can cause severe injuries to marine animals.

The consequences of Russian aggression extend beyond direct military operations. In 2023, the Russian army’s destruction of the Kakhovka Dam triggered a massive ecological disaster in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Pollutants and pathogens entered the water, and conditions arose that led to algal blooms.

In December 2024, the sinking of two tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Kerch Strait led to a massive oil spill. The author of the article calls it the largest in the history of the Black Sea.

Against the backdrop of the full-scale invasion, the number of cetacean deaths also increased. In 2022, an unusual increase in the number of dead animals and cases of them becoming entangled in fishing nets was recorded along the Black Sea coast. New episodes of mass mortality were recorded in the summer of 2023, early 2025, and the summer of 2026.

At the same time, scientists emphasize that the causes of each mortality event must be investigated separately. Currently, experts in several coastal countries are studying the pathological findings documented in 2026.

In addition to military factors, cetaceans are threatened by fishing nets, marine pollution, chemicals, and the illegal capture of live dolphins for captivity. According to researchers’ estimates, at least 11,800 porpoises get caught in fishing nets in the Black Sea each year, and in some years, as many as 20,000.

To address the consequences of the war, scientists are calling for increased monitoring of marine mammals, investigations into the causes of their deaths, the removal of mines from the waters, and the creation of new marine protected areas. International cooperation among countries in the Black Sea region is also needed.

Андрій Колісніченко