In the Kirovsky district of Makhachkala, on the shore of the Caspian Sea, about 2500 dead seals were found. According to the inspectors of the North Caucasian Federal Agency for Fishery, this figure may increase.

According to the agency, the seals were found on the site from the oil depot [probably, the oil refinery of Dagnotech LLC] to the mouth of the Sulak River, about 37 km long. Specialists continue to explore the coast throughout the country; they have been joined by the Scientific Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography employees, who must find out the cause of the death of animals.

An institute representative stated they would be able to provide the investigation results by the middle or at the end of next week.

Notably, Yulia Latynina, a Russian opposition journalist living in exodus since the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, wrote on Twitter that the mass death of the seals in Dagestan could be linked to the rocket launches from the shore of the Caspian Sea by the Russian army. Harmful emissions from the old Soviet X-55 missiles could be the reason for the ecological disaster, she assumed.