Since 2014, Ukrainian nature reserves have been turned into battlegrounds or ended up under military occupation. For example, russia seized the Kazantyp and Yalta reserves after occupying Crimea. The Holy Mountains National Nature Park, the Donetsk Ridge and Zuyivskyi landscape parks, and parts of the Luhansk Provallia Steppe Nature Reserve were damaged or completely destroyed during the fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

With the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reserves in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions also came under occupation. The occupation authorities there are employing the practices already mastered in Crimea.

Within the framework of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, we discuss the ecocidal actions committed by russians on Ukraine’s occupied nature reserve lands.

THE GOAL IS TO SEIZE NATURAL WEALTH AND USE IT FOR FURTHER MILITARY AGGRESSION

russians exploit Ukraine’s protected areas wherever they can establish even a temporary foothold. They try to make this temporary presence permanent by legalizing their actions, at least within the framework of russian legislation.

Re-registration

After the occupation of Crimea, the russian state register saw an increase in legal entities, including national parks and reserves located on the Crimean peninsula. russians began re-registering them as property of their state. Thus, December 2014 saw the appearance of the Kazantyp Nature Reserve, the Tarkhankut National Nature Park, the Opuk Nature Reserve, and other “state budget institutions”.

However, from 2017 to 2023, the russian legal entities of the Kazantyp, Karadag, Opuk, Tarkhankut, and Karalar reserves were liquidated. No, the russians did not regret their conquest or acknowledge their crimes — they simply decided to centralize the management of protected areas through a single directorate, Zapovednyi Krym (Protected Crimea). This entity was created back in 2020, and its activities include fishing and logging. Thus, what is essentially a scheme with the creation of a parent organization legalized these operations on Ukrainian protected territories.

Another criminal activity concerning animals and a way of making money is carried out by the Karadag Nature Reserve in temporarily occupied Crimea. There, russians created a “science demonstration program” involving dolphins. Every day except Monday, visitors are treated to a “bright and colorful acquaintance with Black Sea bottlenose dolphins” — a rare species listed in Ukraine’s Red Book. Judging by the poster, an institution dedicated to studying and preserving nature instead entertains the public with shows similar to those at Nemo dolphinariums.

During the full-scale war, russians apply their experience of appropriation and destruction to mainland reserves under occupation. For instance, last year, the Ukrainian Dzharylhach National Nature Park (Dzharylhachsky in the russified version) was included in the russian unified state register of legal entities. According to this register, russians have allowed fishing and hunting, logging, and the extraction of clay, salt, oil, and natural gas on the territory of the national park. They also want to turn the protected area into a recreational zone by building hotels and restaurants.

In March 2023, russia also included the state-owned autonomous institution Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve in its state register. The russians omitted an important part of the reserve’s name — the name of Friedrich von Falz-Fein, who founded it. The occupation administration of the Kherson Region appointed a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine, Dmytro Meshcheriakov, as the reserve’s director. The National Police has already made him a collaborationism suspect for this.

The same situation occurred in the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park in the Kherson Region. It was re-registered under russian law in February 2023, with Ukrainian citizen Yevheniy Popovchuk appointed as director. Evidently, he harbors political ambitions under the russian occupation regime, as he ran as a candidate from the United russia party in the illegal elections held in Kherson in 2023, becoming a deputy of the so-called Henichesk Municipal District of the Kherson Region.

Military Exploitation

However, re-registration and russian conservation status do not protect the occupied reserves: russians use these lands for military purposes, endangering and deliberately destroying them. 

russians have set up a military training ground in the Pryazovskyi National Nature Park in the Zaporizhzhia Region. There, they conduct mortar fire drills, damaging the reserve landscapes with shelling. Last year, they also actively excavated the Molochna River to create a water barrier in case of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

According to the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, at the beginning of the full-scale war, russians also entrenched themselves in the south of the Donetsk Region, in the Meotyda National Nature Park. This destroyed the nesting sites of wetland birds: the Pallas’s gull, oystercatcher, Dalmatian pelican, and Sandwich tern. Ornithologist Vadym Zhulenko explained that these birds nest only in that location.

The consequences of the occupation of protected areas can already be assessed by the condition of those that have been liberated. For example, after the de-occupation of the Kamianska Sich National Nature Park in the Kherson Region, experts discovered the barbaric method russians used to camouflage their military positions. The invaders tore up rare feather grass species and other plants, which the park was created to protect.

Moreover, let us also take a closer look at the Holy Mountains National Nature Park in the Donetsk Region, which was under occupation from February to autumn 2022. According to its director, Serhiy Pryimachuk, during these months, russians destroyed about 5,000 hectares of forest and removed equipment belonging to the park. The protected area was heavily mined, and mine explosions continue to cause fires.

A similar story unfolded in Dvorichansky National Nature Park, occupied in spring 2022. When the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the Kharkiv Region in the autumn, russians had mined the park area, including with anti-personnel mines known as “petals” [PFM-1 anti-personnel land mine]. Demining is not possible at the moment — it can only be done after the fighting is over. The park is too close to the russian border.

METHODS — BURNING PLANTS, STEALING AND SHOOTING ANIMALS

Regional military administrations monitor the condition of occupied biosphere reserves and national nature parks using satellite imagery and maintaining contact with employees who were forced to remain under occupation. They report that these territories suffer most from fires: forests and steppe grasses burn. Consequently, animals suffer from starvation as well as die from mines and shelling. They also get killed by russian poachers and stolen from Ukrainian reserves to russian zoos.

Nature in Flames

According to the Kherson Regional Military Administration, over 5.5 thousand hectares of the Askania-Nova reserve have burned since February 24, 2022—almost one-fifth of its territory. Agricultural landscapes were most affected: arable land, fallow fields, and shelterbelts. The administration explains this by neglect: weeds have grown, which quickly dry out and are susceptible to catching fire.

However, protected zones also suffered from fires, including the “model” fescue-feather-grass steppe of the Black Sea region, the main ecological asset of Askania-Nova. The most significant damage was caused by large fires on August 22 and September 1, 2023. Plants listed in the The Green Data Book of Ukraine is a government document that promotes the protection of entire plant groups.Green Data Book of Ukraine (2009), primarily Ukrainian feather grass [Stipa ucrainica] and downy feather grass [Stipa capillata], were burned. Additionally, during the firefighting on September 1, 2023, russians plowed the virgin steppe in the reserve, damaging the soil.

Partially affected by the fires was the bottom of the Great Chapelsky Hollow [also referred to as the Great Chapelsky Lowland], a wetland of international importance protected by the Ramsar Convention. The entire reserve area is part of Ukraine's Emerald Network is a network of areas of special conservation interest that is part of the Emerald Network of Europe.Ukraine’s Emerald Network.

In 2023, the Dzharylhach National Nature Park experienced 36 fires which burned over 1.5 thousand hectares of protected land. Rare Red Data Book orchids, sawgrass, and other valuable plants used to grow there. Deer, fallow deer, foxes, and gray hares had to flee the fires. The damage to the park is estimated at over 102 billion hryvnias [~2.5 billion US dollars].

From February 2022 to April 2023, over 7 thousand hectares of protected lands in the Lower Dnipro National Nature Park burned. In June, when russia blew up the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, the park was completely flooded. The damage to the plants cannot be determined since most of the park’s territory remains under military occupation.

In the Mykolaiv Region, the Kinburn Spit, located in the Ivory Coast of Sviatoslav National Nature Park, regularly suffers from fires due to russian military actions. Over the two years of full-scale war, park employees recorded more than 200 fires on the occupied territory. The fire often reignites in the same area, affecting over 6 thousand hectares of the reserve.

The Luhansk Regional Military Administration reported that eight forest fire sites caused by active hostilities in the region have been identified since 2022. These fires have damaged parts of the Kreminna Forests National Nature Park and the Triokhizbenskyi Steppe Reserve branch of the Luhansk Nature Reserve.

After de-occupation, the Holy Mountains National Nature Park in the Donetsk Region still suffers from russian shelling. Constant fires from attacks prevent the forest from recovering. The fires also cause significant damage: on May 7, 2024, over 470 hectares of forest burned, with the State Environmental Inspection estimating the damage at over 2.6 billion hryvnias. This assessment had to be conducted remotely, relying on firefighter reports and geospatial data, as the park’s territory is mined.

Explosives pollute the soil, hindering plant growth and generally negatively impacting flora restoration. “I know from 2014 — when Grads [MLRS] shelled a plot of land in the forestry — that for 8 years, not even grass grew there,” says Serhiy Pryimachuk, director of the Holy Mountains Park, about the war’s consequences for nature.

Animal Deaths and Injuries

On Ukrainian conservation lands under occupation, animals die due to inadequate care and suffer injuries and stress due to hostilities. 

Viktor Shapoval, director of Askania-Nova, reports that many animals in the reserve die from a lack of proper care. For instance, in November 2023, three Cape buffaloes, warmth-loving African animals, died on the territory of the Great Chapelsky Hollow because the occupation administration did not move them to winter quarters in time. Another female buffalo died on the way there.

The Kherson Regional Military Administration estimates the losses to the Askania-Nova reserve from animal deaths and removals at 970 thousand hryvnias [~24,000 US dollars]. This is not the final amount, as the damage continues to be calculated, however, it won’t bring the animals back.

In the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in the Pryazovskyi National Nature Park, russian invaders and local collaborationists engage in fish poaching. According to the park’s director, Dmytro Volovyk, they have placed at least 8 kilometers of fishing nets in the Molochnyi Estuary Hydrological Reserve, collecting up to 5 tons of fish daily.

He also confirms that in the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park, the invaders kill animals “for meat”, “Animals from Biryuchyi [Island] are shot and transported in trucks. I know of an incident where the invaders shot a truckful of hooved animals, with blood dripping from the car trunk.”

There are also reports from occupied parts of the Kherson Region that russian soldiers hunt there. The animal killers do not hide their actions and post photos of their prey on social media. Zoologist Vitaliy Smahol identified a male red deer in these photos. Before the war, herds of these deer used to live in the Askania-Nova reserve and the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park.

Theft of Red Data Book Animals

russians illegally transport animals from Askania-Nova, disguising their actions with a “cooperation agreement,” but these documents are signed not by the legitimate Ukrainian director but by the russian appointee.

In 2023, the National Resistance Center reported that russians were taking animals to the Safari-Park in Krasnodar. The park has a petting zoo, and the animals are kept in enclosures, which are very different conditions from Askania-Nova, where the animals roamed freely.

In December of the same year, the russians illegally exchanged several specimens of Chapman’s zebra, American bison, Przewalski’s horse, and Père David’s deer from Askania-Nova for eland antelopes, domestic yaks, and Bactrian camels from the Rostov Nature Reserve. The species taken from Ukrainian territories are listed in the Red Book and included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List with statuses such as Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, and Near Threatened.

russian propaganda media also report “exchanges” between Askania-Nova and the Tayhan Park in Crimea. In the spring, a 15-year-old pregnant Chapman’s zebra and two foals of this species were taken from Ukraine to Crimea. In return, pelicans, dwarf pigs, alpacas, and a Eurasian bustard were taken from the park in the occupied Crimea. Tayhan has a bad reputation even in russia: its director Oleg Zubkov is often accused of animal abuse. He himself states that he has gone through 582 court sessions involving 70 administrative and six criminal cases. Animal rights activists say he is protected by the occupation authorities of the peninsula. They also sent a petition to vladimir putin, citing the Tayhan Park as “a parody of a zoo, an amateur zoo garden without any animal professionals, with daily dangerous situations caused by the reckless actions of the park owner Zubkov.”

Moreover, the same Oleg Zubkov owns another animal abuse facility—the Skazka Zoo. russian Red Data Book animals — Bengal tiger cubs — have already died there. Now, the zoo has signed a criminal agreement with the occupation management of Askania-Nova to obtain Ukrainian Red Data Book animals.

By managing temporarily occupied Ukrainian reserves, russia exploits loopholes in international law. For instance, the Rome Statute still lacks a definition of ecocide as a crime, and the Geneva Convention does not specifically protect reserves and sanctuaries. While there is a 2016 UN General Assembly resolution on the environment that calls on member states to protect the environment during armed conflicts, UN resolutions are not binding, and thus russia has not included environmental protection requirements in its military documents.

Therefore, Ukraine must vigorously advocate for changes in international law that would hold russia accountable for the damage to Ukrainian protected territories and the environment in general.

Cover photo: Kreminna Forests, 2024. Source: Open Forest NGO

Bottom banner photo by Roksolana Baran. Source: Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine

This publication was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.

In April 2023, the Odesa dolphinarium Nemo was once again at the center of an animal cruelty scandal. Bloggers vacationing at Nemo Hotel Resort & SPA were getting photographed with seals from the dolphinarium right in their hotel room. At that time, UAnimals filed a complaint with the police, as the law prohibits offering photo services with wild animals outside the confines of dolphinariums. The inter-faction parliamentary association Humanna Krayina (Humane Country) also sent a petition to the police. As a result, criminal proceedings were initiated but later closed due to “lack of evidence of an offense.”

However, animal cruelty is not the only issue with the Odesa dolphinarium. UAnimals media, along with the OSINT agency Molfar, discovered that Nemo likely still has ties to Russia, with branches operating not only in the aggressor country but also in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Despite this, the dolphinariums in Ukraine remain open and continue to welcome visitors.

Debts and Hostile Takeovers: The Creation of Nemo

The first Nemo dolphinarium opened in Odesa in 2005, established by employees of the private enterprise Biolohichna Stantsiya (Biological Station).

According to the website of the city of Odesa from the CitySites network, about 1 million hryvnias from the Sevastopol budget were allocated for the dolphinarium project, with the remaining funds contributed by the limited liability company Nerum. This company leased land from the Biological Station for the construction of the dolphinarium, as well as four dolphins and three seals. In 2008, the lease expired, and Nerum owed about 5 million hryvnias for it.

The company was in no rush to return the money, so the debts were never paid. Instead, the Biological Station and its property were seized in a hostile takeover. Insiders working at this enterprise re-registered the dolphinarium to Nerum. Although the management of the Biological Station filed a lawsuit, it was not successful.

Thus, the dolphinarium belongs to the company Nerum, whose co-owners are:

• Rayisa Kislovska, mother of Odesa City Council deputy Andriy Kislovskyi;
• Mykhailo and Vyacheslav Kuchuks. Mykhailo Kuchuk was the deputy mayor of Odesa and was accused of accepting a bribe from a criminal group in 2023;
• The couple Serhiy and Nataliya Keliushkys. Nataliya Kelyushok (Kelly) has a temporary residence address in Russia;
• Dmytro Uryvskyi, one of the founders of the international non-governmental organization Mizhnarodna Asotsiatsiya Okeanariumiv Ta Delfinariyiv (International Association of Aquariums and Dolphinariums) in Crimea, lives in Anapa.

All of Nerum’s owners (or their full and partial namesakes) are also founders of the Russian limited liability company Ekologicheskiy Tsentr (Ecological Center). The company is located in Anapa, continues to operate, and pays taxes to the Russian budget. For example, in 2022, it paid over 600 thousand rubles (at the current exchange rate, this is over 6 thousand U.S. dollars to the budget of the state that launched a full-scale war against Ukraine).

Andriy Kislovskyi, who indirectly owns the dolphinarium through his mother, works in housing construction and apartment sales in Odesa. He was also a deputy of the Odesa City Council for four terms, particularly representing the Communist Party of Ukraine from 2010 to 2015. In 2013, Andriy Kislovskyi was seen among those involved in the seizure of the dolphinarium in Sevastopol. According to information from Russian databases leaked to the Internet, Kislovsky has a temporary residence address in Russia, where he has even retired.

Branches and Partner Companies: Nemo’s Ties to Russia

As part of its franchise, Nemo has dolphinarium branches in several Russian cities: Anapa, Nizhny Novgorod, Dzhubga, Golubinskaya, and Vityazevo.

Additionally, the Nemo dolphinarium is closely associated with other Russian companies. Primarily, this involves Chudnoye More (Wondrous Sea). From 2011 to 2013, this Russian company had a partnership with Nerum and received marine animals on behalf of the limited liability company Ecological Center.

These enterprises likely maintained connections even after Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014. For instance, the autonomous non-profit organization Ortsynus reported the deaths of marine animals between 2019 and 2021, including a female Pacific walrus named Nyusha and a female seal named Meggy. These animals belonged to the Nemo dolphinarium network through Ecological Center and Wondrous Sea, according to Ortsynus.

The owner of the limited liability company Wondrous Sea through a trustee is Sergey Zirinov, a deputy from Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, who is suspected of murders and organizing a gang. In 2017, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

In 2014, the company Nerum, together with Tetyana Ryabchikova, founded the limited liability company Delfinariy Nemo (Dolphinarium Nemo) in the temporarily occupied Crimea. The legal address of this company is 10  Revkomivskyi Lane in Alushta. Can you guess what else you can find at this address? A dolphinarium from the Nemo network in Alushta, according to its website. It can be assumed that through this newly established company, the Ukrainian owners continued to manage the Crimean dolphinariums under occupation, not only in Alushta but also in Feodosia. Evidence supporting this includes:

• As of 2016, the Nemo website still listed branches in Feodosia, Alushta, and Russian cities.
• Dolphinariums in the Russian-occupied Alushta and Feodosia, as well as the one in Minsk (Belarus), share the same logo, website design, cross-references, and mentions of each other on social media. At the same time, dolphinariums in Odesa, Almaty, and Minsk offer the same gift certificates with the contact information of the Odesa dolphinarium.
• The Nemo dolphinarium Odesa mentions 15 branches on its website (a number that can only be reached by including those operating in Russia and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine).

Regarding Nemo branches in occupied territories, it is also worth mentioning the Berdyansk branch. This branch is well-remembered by colleagues in Kharkiv: as of June 2024, the official website of the Kharkiv Nemo still lists the dolphinarium in temporarily occupied Berdyansk as part of the network. Additionally, the owners of Nemo in Kharkiv do not fully comply with the Law “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language” on their website. Although it technically has a Ukrainian version, part of the menu and other content, even the logo, remain in Russian.

Shady Land Deals and Animal Cruelty: Other Allegations Against Nemo

The Nemo dolphinarium has repeatedly faced accusations of animal abuse. At the beginning of this article, we mentioned bloggers filming sea lions not in the dolphinarium but in a hotel room at Nemo. Guests of this hotel complex get entertained not only by sea lions but also by dolphins. This can be seen in photos and videos on social media from people who have stayed at the Nemo Hotel Resort & SPA.

The dolphins are kept in a pool near the sunbeds where guests swim with them, which violates the law “On the Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment.” By referring to Article 25, Section 10 of the aforementioned law, you will find the prohibition against keeping dolphins in public catering establishments, hotels, resorts, and health institutions. These animals are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats under the scientific name Tursiops truncatus (tursio), or the common bottlenose dolphin.

There are also suspicions that even the pools at the Nemo dolphinarium may not be safe for the animals. 

In 2020, the Zelenyi Lyst NGO (Green Leaf), together with the State Environmental Inspection in the Odesa region, attempted a surprise inspection of the pool where the dolphins are kept. They were not allowed inside, but they managed to film the pool using a drone. The pool’s condition raises questions about whether the water volume is sufficient, whether the tent covering is too thin, and whether the water in the pool is tap water. Chlorinated tap water is harmful to dolphins, causing skin and mucous membrane issues.

This was not the only time state inspectors were denied access to monitor compliance with environmental protection requirements. Over the past five years, State Environmental Inspection employees in the Odesa region were denied access twice. However, experts were eventually able to inspect the Odesa dolphinarium in 2023 when the police opened a criminal case due to signs of animal cruelty. The State Environmental Inspection cannot disclose the conditions in which the animals are kept due to the secrecy of the investigation.

These were far from the first signs of animal cruelty. Suspicions of mistreatment of Nemo residents existed earlier. 

For example, in 2018, employees of the Odesa dolphinarium organized an unforgettable show for visitors: during a performance, a female dolphin gave birth while performing a “romantic dance.” This occurred despite the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources having established Rules and Standards for Keeping Dolphins in Captivity five years earlier, which, among other things, prohibited the use of pregnant females and nursing calves in public performances.

At the Odesa Nemo, pregnant dolphins are not only made to perform, but the dolphinarium also offers individual dances with dolphins for a hefty fee. Here is the price list for such services: 3,000-4,000 hryvnias [$75-100 as of June 2024] for 10 minutes of VIP swimming with dolphins. You have to wonder whether this money is worth the life of the animal. Humans can infect dolphins with deadly infections such as influenza or COVID-19. Karyna Vyshniakova, a candidate of biological sciences and head of the Marine Vertebrate Laboratory at the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of Sea (UkrSCES), highlighted this risk, “Scientific publications describe cases of bottlenose dolphins dying from the influenza A virus subtype H5N1. Additionally, scientists have discovered that dolphins have receptors similar to humans, which are responsible for SARS-CoV-2 infection.”

Moreover, there are the ubiquitous tricks where trainers ride the dolphins’ noses (scientifically known as rostrums). This can injure the animals. Experts have noted that even just being in captivity, dolphins can injure their rostrums against the pool walls. Adding the weight of 50-60 kg riders increases the risk of injury. Nemo does not seem to plan to abandon this practice. Recently, in May, UAnimals volunteers visited the Odesa dolphinarium and saw that they still have people riding on the dolphins’ noses.

Lack of Permits for Animal Keeping and Capture

In 2011, the Donetsk court considered a case against Nerum, which was accused of illegal construction and poaching. The lawsuit alleged that Nerum lacked permits for keeping wild animals and documents confirming the legality of transferring endangered marine mammals into private ownership and breeding them in captivity. 

According to the plaintiffs, the company had a permit to catch endangered animals in 2007, but all permits were annulled in April 2008. However, the company continued to somehow acquire marine animals for the Donetsk branch even after 2008. The court’s decision did not refute this information.

Unauthorized Land Seizure

The Odesa Nemo Dolphinarium is located on the territory of the Lanzheron beach. Nerum received a lease permit for this plot back in 2003. By 2007, the executive committee of the Odesa City Council allowed them to expand and build a “rehabilitation and health center for Dolphin therapy is not an evidence-based treatment method. The ultrasound emitted by dolphins does not meet the medical standards for ultrasound therapy. Besides, dolphins are wild animals that can harm people. For example, a dolphin had bitten a boy in the Nemo dolphinarium in Odesa.dolphin therapy».

Notably, the responsibility for overseeing this project was assigned to Mykhailo Kuchuk, not as a co-founder of Nemo but as the deputy mayor. At that time, the law “On Prevention of Corruption” did not exist, so such situations were not classified as a conflict of interest.

Since 2008, the company has been reconstructing the beach at the city’s request, as this plot was still in municipal ownership. However, in 2012, Nerum filed a lawsuit demanding that all newly constructed facilities on the Lanzheron shoreline be recognized as theirs. The court granted these demands and dismissed the prosecutor’s appeal. The Nemo Hotel was built with obvious legal violations as it is located less than 100 meters from the sea.

Nemo seized land during its expansion not just in Odesa. In Kyiv, the branch was established in a blatantly illegal manner: they occupied a plot of land and built a dolphinarium without permission. However, this trick did not work in the capital. The State Architectural and Construction Commission filed a lawsuit, and in 2013, the court ordered the demolition of the Nemo building in Kyiv. The founders appealed and continued to ignore the final demolition order for a long time. In the summer of 2017, the dolphinarium building was seized for large-scale fraud, and the dolphin shows ceased a few months later, in October. Unauthorized construction was insufficient for the dolphinarium’s operation, so the owners also illegally connected sewage systems to the building. In 2016 alone, Kyivvodokanal [Kyiv’s municipal water supply company] disconnected Nemo from the city’s sewer system three times, but they persistently reconnected each time.

The history of the Nemo dolphinarium network includes raiding, illegal construction, and, most disturbingly, the exploitation of defenseless animals. Despite animal rights activists’ outrage and numerous lawsuits, the Nemo dolphinarium continues to operate. Without visitors, this would be impossible. Perhaps, at least, the Russian connection in Nemo’s activities might convince Ukrainians not to support animal cruelty with their money.