“The Arctic is a very important region of the Russian Federation, which applies to both our borders and our special economic zone. The economic potential is growing from year to year, you know that there are general plans for national development in the Arctic area, and all of these are being implemented consistently, “Peskov said.
Satellite images provided by CNN by space technology company Maxar detail a strict and continuous construction of Russian military bases and hardware on the country’s Arctic coast, along with underground storage facilities likely for new high-tech weapons and Poseidon 2M39 torpedo .
This unmanned stealth torpedo is powered by a nuclear reactor and is designed by Russian designers to sneak past the seabed.
Russian hardware in the High North area includes bombers and MiG31BM aircraft and new radar systems near the Alaska coast.
“No one wants to see the Arctic as a region that is becoming militarized,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday as he addressed reports of Russia’s buildup of military capabilities in the Arctic.
“We clearly recognize that the region is a key area, vital to our own defense of the homeland and as a potential strategic corridor between Indo Pacific Europe and the homeland, which would make it vulnerable to widespread competition, if you will,” he said. .
“We are committed to protecting your US national security interests in the Arctic by maintaining a rule-based order in the region, especially through our network of Arctic allies and partners who share the exact same mutual interest we have in this order.” , Kirby added.
Regarding these concerns, Peskov said that “we must not forget that America itself has never given up its military presence in the Arctic and has never weakened its focus on the Arctic.”
The Russian accumulation was matched by the movements of NATO and US troops and equipment. American B-1 Lancer bombers stationed at the Norwegian air base Ørland have recently completed missions in the eastern Barents Sea, for example. The US Army’s Seawolf hose submarine was recognized by US officials in August as being in the area.