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On Thursday, a source at the Ukrainian naval base in Sevastopol told RIA-Novosti that the Ukrainian Navy restarted special training for dolphins and other animals for military duties, including attacking enemy combat swimmers and detecting mines, saying, “Ten dolphins are now being trained for special tasks at the Ukrainian state oceanarium, and Ukrainian military personnel regularly train the animals to detect objects on the seabed“. The Soviet Navy trained dolphins at Sevastopol as far back as 1973. They trained them to find military equipment such as sea mines on the seabed, as well as attacking divers, and even carrying explosives on their heads to plant on enemy ships. After the breakup of the USSR, and division of the Black Sea Fleet into Ukrainian and Russian units, the dolphin training section and its specialists went to the Ukrainian Navy. Then, they saw use for civilian tasks such as working with disabled children, in order to keep the unit intact.
Our source told us that the navy would train killer-dolphins to attack enemy combat swimmers using special knives or pistols fixed to their heads, saying, “Now, we’re planning training exercises for counter-combat swimmer tasks in order to defend ships in port and on raids”. Their tasks would also include patrolling stretches of water to detect items of military interest and to mark them by attaching floating buoys. This year, several exercises have already occurred, with the dolphins finding underwater weapons, both in the aquarium and outside it. Our source said, “The mission was successfully carried out. Our dolphins found the items and attached devices to them which were fixed on their heads, after which a buoy on it was sent to the surface to mark it”. The Ukrainian dolphin base is one of only two in the world, the other being in San Diego CA in the USA. There’s no information on whether the Russian Navy has a similar unit.
11 October 2012
RIA-Novosti
http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20121011/176548999.html
Voices from Russia 
Belarusian President Lukashenko Called Patriarch Kirill a “True Friend”
Tags: aleksandr lukashenko, Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, Byelorussia, Christian, Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Kirill I of Moscow, Lukashenko, Moscow, Moscow Patriarchate, Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Patriarch Kirill I, political commentary, politics, President of Belarus, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Russia, Russian, Russian Orthodox Church, Slavic peoples, Ukraine
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On Sunday, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko awarded Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias the Order of Peoples’ Friendship. Lukashenko praised the patriarch’s dedication to preserving the unity of both the Church and the “Slavic fraternity”, saying, “This fully corresponds to the aspirations of the peoples of Belarus, Russia, and the Ukraine. You’re a true friend of our country, and have proved this on numerous occasions, supporting us in the most difficult of situations”. The relationship between Russia and Belarus has long been tense, with gas supply prices being a particular bone of contention. Belarus saw relations with its western neighbours pushed almost to the breaking point earlier this year, after a Swedish stunt involving the airlifting of “pro-democracy teddy bears”.
14 October 2012
RIA-Novosti
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20121014/176622461.html