CNN —Two beluga whales have been rescued from the besieged city of Kharkiv in Ukraine and taken to an aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in a complex operation. A multinational team involving marine mammal care experts from Oceanogràfic de Valencia, the largest oceanarium in Europe; Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta; and SeaWorld were involved in the high-risk journey. The pair of belugas – a 15-year-old male named Plombir and a 14-year-old female called Miranda – arrived in “delicate health” Tuesday evening after a “grueling journey,” according to Georgia Aquarium. “The city is facing increasing threat from artillery fire, which has intensified in recent weeks, with bombs dropping within a few hundred meters of the aquarium,” Georgia Aquarium said in a press release. The journey began Monday when the team first removed the whales from Ukraine’s NEMO Dolphinarium and drove them 12 hours from Kharkiv to Odesa.

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Persons: Oceanogràfic de, Miranda –, Ukraine’s NEMO Dolphinarium, “, ”, Keith Yip Organizations: CNN, Oceanogràfic, Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Valencia, Spain, Oceanogràfic de Valencia, Europe, Georgia, Atlanta, Ukraine’s, Russia, Russian, Odesa, Moldova, Moldovan, Chisinau