Ecological disaster on the coast of Odesa region: dozens of dead dolphins discovered

On June 5, the bodies of 22 dolphins were discovered on the coast of the Tuzlivski Limany National Nature Park. This is a record figure in recent years.

This was reported by the head of the scientific research department of the national park, Ivan Rusev.

“On June 5, 2026, on International Environment Day, the sea immediately washed up an unprecedented, terrible number of dead cetaceans – 22 animals: 20 bottlenose dolphins, 1 bottlenose dolphin and 1 white-beaked dolphin. We examined only 25 kilometers of the national park’s coast. And over thousands of kilometers of sea, thousands of them were probably thrown out,” the official noted.

According to him, in late May and early June, dead dolphins were found on the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts of the Black Sea, and in the Gulf of Odesa, alive but severely traumatized animals were found.

“Such catastrophic scales are a direct reference to 2022, when the largest wave of the sea of ​​marine mammals began. The main, terrible and only root cause of this horror is war. Due to the full-scale war that the Russian Federation unleashed against Ukraine and against our entire environment, the Black Sea ecosystem is on the verge of collapse. The constant, deadly military load – explosions, missile launches, the use of powerful sonar of warships – is destroying biological diversity,” Rusev emphasized.

He also noted that dolphins are facing an ecological catastrophe of a synergistic nature, namely: “Populations of unique Black Sea cetaceans are losing their vitality, strength and genetic ability to regenerate every day. If the world does not stop the aggressor, the Black Sea risks losing its unique masters forever. We document each such fact as a crime against nature,” Rusev added.