“The Arctic zone is a very important region in the Russian Federation, which applies both to our borders and to our special economic zone. The economic potential is growing every year, you know that there are general plans for the national development of the Arctic zone, and all of this is being implemented consistently, “said Peskov.
Satellite imagery provided to CNN by space technology company Maxar details a sharp and continuous construction of Russian military bases and hardware on the country’s arctic coast, along with underground storage facilities for new high-tech weapons and the Poseidon 2M39 torpedo.
This unmanned stealth torpedo is powered by a nuclear reactor and designed by Russian designers to sneak through coastal defenses – like those in the US – on the seabed.
Russian hardware in the Upper North area includes MiG31BM bombers and jets and new radar systems off the coast of Alaska.
“Nobody wants to see the Arctic as a militarized region,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday as he dealt with reports on increasing Russian military capabilities in the Arctic.
“Obviously, we recognize that the region is an important terrain that is vital for the defense of our own homeland and as a potential strategic corridor between Indo-Pacific Europe and the homeland, which would make it vulnerable to increased competition, if you want “, he said.
“We are committed to protecting the United States’ national security interests in the Arctic, maintaining a rule-based order in the region, particularly through our network of Arctic allies and partners who share the same mutual interest as we do in exactly that order,” he said. Kirby added.
Regarding these concerns, Peskov said that “it must not be forgotten that America itself has never renounced its military presence in the Arctic zone, it has never weakened its attention to the Arctic zone”.
Russian accumulation was accompanied by the movements of NATO and US troops and equipment. American B-1 Lancer bombers stationed at the Norwegian air base in Ørland recently completed missions in the eastern Barents Sea, for example. The US military’s stealth submarine Seawolf was recognized by US officials in August as being in the area.