Body of Russian 'spy whale' Valdimir recovered near Norway

The whale was first spotted in 2019 near the island of Ingoa, north of Norway, about 300 kilometers off the Russian coast.

A beluga whale was found dead in Risavika Bay in southern Norway on Saturday. The whale is believed to have been a trained Russian spy.

Marine Mind, an NGO that monitors whale movements, reported this.

Norway's state broadcaster NRK reported that a father and son were fishing in the sea when they found the whale's body floating in the water.

Valdimir was first spotted five years ago in 2019 near the island of Ingoa in the north of Norway, about 300 kilometers from the Russian coast.

It had 'St.Petersburg instrument' written on it in English and also had an action camera attached. The whale was called Valdimir, a combination of the Norwegian name for the whale and the initials of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This whale responded to human cues, and was quite interested in humans. So the whale is suspected to be a spy.

Norwegian intelligence believed the whale had been trapped in Russia and trained as part of a research program before reaching Norwegian waters.

However, Moscow has never responded to the allegations against Valdimir.

The NGO Marine Mind has been monitoring whale movements for years.

"The death of the whale is terrible," Marine Mind founder Sebastian Strand told Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. The whale was good last Friday too.”

He further said, “We managed to recover his remains and kept him in a mortuary.

However, no major injuries were seen on his body and the cause of his death was not immediately known."