Climate change enables access to valuable resources such as oil and gas in the Arctic. Russia is trying to expand its position of power.
Moscow – Russia is under pressure, there is movement on the front lines in the Ukraine war currently hardly. In addition, the Ukrainian defenders are repeatedly reporting counter-offensives, for example in the south of the country. A planned blitzkrieg turned into a grueling struggle that had lasted for more than six months and claimed many lives. The head of the Kremlin also knows that Russia is now running out of armed forces Wladimir Putin noticed. That is why the Russian army is to be increased by around 137,000 soldiers by the beginning of next year.
The Federation is also arming itself in the far north. Soviet-era bases are reopening in the Arctic. New, ultra-modern weapons such as hypersonic missiles are to be stationed there in the future. that shared Nato-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg world on Sunday With. “We see a significant increase in Russia’s military presence in the Arctic,” said Stoltenberg. But what is behind it?
Putin’s Arctic Strategy: Why the North Pole is so important
The Arctic includes areas of United StatesDenmark (via Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Russia’s. Natural resources such as oil and gas make the region particularly desirable. As the ice sheets around the North Pole melt due to climate change, new sea routes are possible that facilitate access to the valuable raw materials. The attractiveness of the Arctic grows every year.
The 1982 International Convention on the Law of the Sea regulates its use. Accordingly, the states may use the area up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the coast. Moscow lays claim to 1.2 million square kilometers in the Arctic – in particular to the resources stored there. Russia already extracts 90 percent of its natural gas and 60 percent of its oil from the Arctic Business Insider reported.
Russia criticizes NATO presence in the Arctic: “We perceive it negatively”
“From a military point of view (…) the Arctic was already highly relevant during the Cold War. The NATO accession of Sweden and Finland now means that NATO and Russia directly border each other in the Arctic,” said Volker Rachold, head of the German Arctic Office at the Helmholtz Institute Business Insider. “In addition, the Arctic sea ice is melting rapidly with global warming, thus facilitating access to the Arctic and the resources stored there – oil and gas, mineral raw materials, but also fish stocks,” says the Arctic expert.
The Kremlin doesn’t like the fact that Russia will be so close to the West in the future. Moscow also criticized the planned expansion of the NATO presence around the North Pole. “We perceive it negatively,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the news agency on Monday (August 29). interfax according to. The West is thus continuing its policy of confrontation with Russia. Peskov stressed that Russia would “reasonably protect its interests in terms of security and economic activities”.
Putin’s Arctic strategy: infrastructure expansion planned
The infrastructure is to be expanded by 2035 as part of Putin’s Arctic strategy, he wrote Business Insider. In addition to five new oil projects, the settlement of new companies is also planned. In order to attract investors in the far north, Moscow is luring with tax advantages. In addition, the airfield network in the region is to be expanded. Russia plans to “construct two airfields in Nagurskoye and Temp and rebuild seven airfields (…)”, Alexander Moiseyev, commander of the Russian Northern Fleet, informed the state news agency mug.
At least Russia’s presence is not surprising. “That strengthened Russia’s military involvement has been evident for several years and is now increasing. NATO’s reaction is therefore not unexpected, especially in view of Sweden’s and Finland’s upcoming NATO membership,” Rachold told dem Business Insider. Rachold emphasized that Russia’s rearmament, but also the “exploitation of Arctic resources” would primarily endanger the “sensitive Arctic environment”. (kas/dpa)
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