Russia: Vladimir Poutins strengthens its presence in the Arctic with a FEARSOME missile system | World | New

The Kotelny Island facility is located between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea, at the heart of the main strategic shipping route of the region. Commander Colonel Vladimir Pasechnik, commander, said: "Our task is to monitor the airspace and the northern sea route. "We have everything we need for our service and our comfortable life."

The Kremlin has poured vast resources into the modernization of Soviet-era facilities as part of its efforts to badert Russia's claims on the Arctic region.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the army had rebuilt or expanded many facilities in the polar region, redeveloping runways and deploying air defense badets.

Shoigu told Kremlin officials that Russia's infrastructure in the Arctic is the most advanced and unparalleled in the world.

He said: "We are going forward with progressive work on the Arctic Islands. Aerodromes are being restored and the most advanced infrastructures are being created.

"I can say with certainty that no other country in the world has the type of modern infrastructure Russia has."

He added that renovations had been carried out in many Arctic territories and that military infrastructure had also been created on the lands of Franz Josef, Alexandra Land, Sredny, Wrangel, Cape Schmidt, New Siberia and Kuriles.

The expanded infrastructure has enabled the Russian army to restore full radar coverage of the country's 14,000-kilometer Arctic border and deploy combat aircraft to protect its airspace.

The army has also embarked on a clean-up effort in the region, striving to eliminate tens of thousands of tons of garbage from the Arctic territories, most of the rusty fuel tanks left behind by the government. Soviet army.

Russia is not alone in wanting to badert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic. The United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway are competing for all positions and China is showing increasing interest in the polar region.

And Moscow's ambitions did not go unnoticed by neighboring countries.

Flemming Splidsboel Hansen of the Danish Institute for International Studies said: "In Russia, the Northern Sea Route has been described as a manna with a high potential for economic development.

"And that's why a military capability is needed in the region. It's probably supposed to be defensive, but it's considered by the West as offensive. "