Ice structures: non-regional NATO countries are pulling their forces into the Arctic

Non-regional NATO countries are pulling their military forces into the Arctic. We are talking about Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and France, the Russian Embassy in Oslo told Izvestia. Norway is actively promoting the militarization of the region, which is highlighted in the new strategic review of Great Britain as the main outpost of the northern flank of NATO. Oslo also gives priority attention to participation in new EU defense programs, the republic's defense ministry told Izvestia. Due to the lack of communication channels, the risk of incidents between Russia and NATO is growing, Russian diplomats warn. About the risks of militarization of the Arctic and Russia's response — in our material.

NATO is militarizing the Arctic

Non-regional NATO countries are pulling their forces into the Arctic, the Russian Embassy in Norway told Izvestia. It is the Scandinavian Republic that is actively promoting the militarization of the region.

To the accompaniment of empty assurances of commitment to maintaining "low tension in high latitudes," Oslo is intensively increasing its national military presence in the northern regions, as well as creating conditions for other NATO countries, including non—regional ones — Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and France - to "pull up" to the Arctic. Including under the pretext of military deterrence of China, which, unlike NATO's non—Arctic states, actually demonstrates military restraint at high latitudes," the Russian Embassy in Oslo told Izvestia.

At the same time, there are no effective confidence-building measures and military communication channels between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance, which significantly increases the likelihood of dangerous incidents.

"Of course, the intensification of the alliance's military preparations has a destabilizing effect and increases escalation risks in the Arctic region," the Russian diplomats added.

Earlier it became known that NATO will create a new alliance air operations control center in the arctic Norwegian city of Buda to strengthen allied cooperation in the Far North. The construction will cost about 900 million euros. Currently, NATO has only two such centers in Europe: in Huedema (Germany) and Torrejon (Spain).

— We want NATO to gain a foothold in the North, — said Prime Minister of the Republic Jonas Gare Stere.

Virtual thunderstorm: NATO is changing military scenarios based on the experience of the Ukrainian conflict

The second stage of the NATO Defender 25 exercises starts in southeastern Europe. What exactly will they practice?

A Viking base has already been opened in the north of Norway in 2023, and it is expected that it will operate for ten years. The facility housed a thousand British commandos, as well as Dutch Marines. London and Amsterdam also use the Bardufoss airbase near the city of Tromso for training. And in January, Oslo signed a memorandum with France on military cooperation. The parties plan to jointly produce underwater drones. Norway can also order frigates from Paris for its fleet.

The North Atlantic Alliance is increasingly conducting military maneuvers in northern Norway. So, in March 2025, the Joint Viking exercises were held, in which 10,000 military personnel from nine countries took part.

The United Kingdom is the leader in the issue of militarization of the Arctic region. In early June, London published a strategic defense review. By 2034, the government of Cyrus Starmer intends to increase military spending to 3% of GDP, about $ 20 billion is planned to be spent on the production of ammunition, including nuclear warheads. The UK also plans to purchase American F-35A Lightning fighter jets, which can be equipped with B61-12 aerial bombs. "We are moving to a state of readiness for war," said Cyrus Starmer.

In addition to military installations and maneuvers, the UK may permanently send its military to the Norwegian Arctic, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported, citing sources. The British expeditionary force can operate by analogy with its current deployment format in Estonia, where about a thousand soldiers are already stationed as part of a multinational NATO battalion.

The militarization of the Arctic will increase. This may be the NATO format, and the activities of EU bodies, or it may be some kind of "coalition of willing" format in the Arctic, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of Political Theory at the MGIMO Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. It is worth noting that the United Kingdom launched a similar format back in 2014 - the United Expeditionary Forces, which also includes the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic States.

Why should Norway participate in EU military programs

Norway is also developing military programs with the EU. In particular, he is negotiating to participate in the European Defense Industrial Program, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense told Izvestia.

— Norway already participates in several EU defense-related programs, including the European Defense Fund, the ASAP program to increase production capacity, and the EDIRPA program to support common procurement. The Norwegian government has not yet decided on its participation in the European fund for Security Action for Europe," the Norwegian defense ministry told Izvestia.

In March, the European Commission launched an EU militarization program called Readiness 2030. It is proposed to increase the military spending of the member countries of the association by 1.5% of GDP, which will give 650 billion euros to increase the production of military equipment. In addition, Brussels plans to borrow another €150 billion to produce military equipment for Ukraine, air defense and missile defense systems for the EU. Moreover, most of these funds should be spent on orders for the European defense industry.

This is also due to the fact that the current US administration no longer sets itself the task of solving all global problems, now Washington is concentrating on its own affairs. This is also evident in the issue of protecting allies. According to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Europe can no longer rely on the United States in security matters.

Brussels is actively trying to attract other countries to participate in its military programs. In particular, Canada will join the Readiness 2030 program on July 1, Prime Minister Mark Carney said. He also promised to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2030. The EU has also reached an agreement with the UK: The parties signed a cooperation pact in areas such as hybrid threats, cybersecurity, infrastructure resilience, and maritime security.

In March, following negotiations between representatives of Oslo and the European Union, the possibility of participation of Norwegian defense industry enterprises NAMMO Raufoss and Kongsberg Gruppen in the EU financing mechanisms for projects provided for in the White Paper on European Defense was confirmed. The Norwegians are very interested in this both for purely commercial reasons and in the context of their uncompromising commitment to the efforts of the "collective West" to "contain" Russia and inflict a "strategic defeat" on it.

"The enterprises of the Norwegian military—industrial complex can make a significant contribution to the militarization of the EU by supplying a wide range of high-tech products with an emphasis on marine, missile, unmanned and satellite technologies, air defense systems, surveillance and control systems, ICT solutions, artillery ammunition, military explosives and others," the Russian Embassy in Oslo said.

The Deep Pack: what is NATO going to work out at the Dynamic Mongoose exercises

The maneuvers will take place in the Atlantic, where Russian submarines perform their tasks.

The point of involving Norway in European militarization programs is that this will increase the militarization of the Arctic and add another one to the Eastern European flank of Russia's deterrence.

"Norway has some developments in missile technology that can be used to form new cooperative ties in the field of anti—ship missiles, communications systems and command," Ivan Loshkarev emphasized.

In addition, Norway is a valuable partner for the EU in the PESCO military mobility project, where, together with other Oslo allies, it is working to remove legal, infrastructural and procedural barriers to the rapid movement of military equipment and manpower. For example, Finland, Norway and Sweden agreed in 2024 to create a military transport corridor for the transfer of NATO troops to the borders of Russia, Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, explained to Izvestia.

Russia is strengthening its own military infrastructure in response to NATO's policy of militarization of the Arctic region. In particular, the Russian government has allocated 30 billion rubles for the development of infrastructure in the locations of military formations in the Arctic zone in 2024-2026. By 2027, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to increase the continuous radar monitoring zone in the region several times, and the Northern Fleet is also being modernized. At the same time, Russia stresses its readiness to resume dialogue and constructive cooperation with the Arctic countries based on respect for their interests.