- On Dec. 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of ecocide during COP15, the U.N. biodiversity summit in Montreal, following unprecedented reports of dead dolphins and porpoises washing up on Black Sea beaches since Russia invaded Ukraine.Following an unprecedented number of reports of dead dolphins and porpoises on Black Sea beaches since Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Dec. 7 accused Russia of ecocide during COP15, the U.N. biodiversity summit in Montreal.A few days before Zelenskyy’s accusation, researchers presented the first scientific analysis of changes in cetacean deaths and movement patterns since the war began in February.Representatives of Switzerland-based marine conservation consultancy Ocean Care shared the findings with Mongabay prior to presenting them on Dec. 2 at a conference in Malta of state signatories to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS).Further research is needed to establish the exact impact, Vishnyakova said, but changes to cetacean populations such as she is seeing in her as-yet-unpublished stranding data are likely to destabilize the entire ecosystem to an unknown degree."