Politics Putin wants to send more soldiers to the Arctic because of Nato
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the deployment of more soldiers in the Arctic. He called on the Russian government to press ahead with the construction and renovation of garrison towns in the polar zone, the Kremlin leader said at an Arctic forum in Murmansk. "I would like to emphasize that this is naturally linked to the strengthening of our military component in the region, the number of soldiers here will grow." Russia will also assert its rights vis-à-vis NATO, he emphasized.
27.03.2025, 20:23
SDA
"Of course, we are only concerned by the fact that the NATO countries as a whole are increasingly designating the far north as a bridgehead for possible conflicts and are rehearsing the deployment of military forces under these conditions," said Putin. Soldiers from Finland and Sweden are also being deployed, "with whom we had no problems until recently". Finland and Sweden joined Nato after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine out of concern for their security
Russia is not threatening anyone, Putin emphasized in Murmansk. At the same time, however, Moscow would not allow other countries to threaten Russia's sovereignty and national interests, he said. Huge deposits of oil and gas are suspected under the ice of the Arctic. Russia has already registered claims to large areas that it considers to be an undersea extension of its coastline. At the same time, Putin said that Russia was open to developing the raw materials in partnership with Western companies.
In this context, the Kremlin leader also commented on US President Donald Trump's plans to take over Greenland from Denmark. It would be wrong to dismiss these plans as "extravagant rhetoric from the new American administration". These are serious US plans for Greenland. "It is obvious that the USA will continue to systematically pursue its geopolitical, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic," said Putin. However, the annexation of Greenland is a bilateral issue between two countries and does not concern Russia.
