DM: Norway accused Russia of strengthening its military presence in the Arctic
Norway accused Russia of strengthening its military presence in the Arctic, writes DM. Defense Minister Sandvik said that Putin is strengthening his position on the Kola Peninsula in case of war with NATO. Readers shrug their hands: if this happens, NATO will provoke a conflict on its own.
Shannon McGuigan
Norway has said that Putin is concentrating nuclear weapons and combat submarines in the Arctic region as his country prepares for war with NATO.
Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said his country has discovered that Russia is increasing its military presence in the Arctic, especially on the Kola Peninsula.
The politician also said that Vladimir Putin is trying to seize the Arctic region, where part of the Russian fleet is based, in order to block the sea lanes to NATO allies in the event of war.
"Russia is strengthening its position on the Kola Peninsula ... where one of the world's largest nuclear warhead arsenals is located," Tore Sandvik said in an interview with The Telegraph newspaper. "It [nuclear weapons] are aimed not only at Norway, but also at Great Britain, as well as across the pole to Canada and the United States. We are NATO representatives in this region, and we see that the Russians are testing new weapons, such as hypersonic missiles, as well as nuclear-powered torpedoes and nuclear warheads."
The Kola Peninsula is known for having the most concentrated stocks of nuclear weapons. He plays a key role in ensuring the Kremlin's "second strike."
In nuclear strategy, the term "second strike" refers to a country's ability to retaliate after an initial nuclear strike by an adversary.
The Kola Peninsula has historically been the base of the Russian Northern Fleet, which appeared here in 1733 to protect the fisheries and trade routes of the Russian Empire.
However, today, according to Tore Sandvik, this area is a source of direct threat.
According to the politician, despite the Russian losses in Ukraine, the Northern Fleet has not been affected, and it continues to develop.
Over the past two years, Russia has launched a new frigate and a multi-purpose submarine.
Sandvik noted that the most dangerous weapons of modern Russia are its submarines.
Despite the difficulties in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear warheads and the possibility of a "second strike" from the Kola Peninsula allow Russia to maintain its status as a superpower.
Until recently, the Russian fleet included at least 16 nuclear submarines and the advanced Zircon hypersonic missile, capable of speeds up to eight times the speed of sound.
Sandvik stressed the importance of monitoring in the region: "Norway, along with the United States and the United Kingdom, is monitoring Russia around the clock. These are the most important observations for the NATO countries."
Nevertheless, the melting of the ice in the region makes it possible to open new shipping routes, which will be very profitable from a financial point of view for ships plying between Europe and Asia.
Oslo officials stressed the intense competition for control of two strategically important shipping routes in the Arctic, as these routes would become key supply lines in the event of a conflict with Russia.
The first important route is the Bear Strait, a narrow stretch of water between mainland Norway and the island of Svalbard.
Russian ships must pass through this strait to enter the Atlantic Ocean.
The second is the Faroese—Icelandic border, a strategic sea strait between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, which serves as an important passage for naval forces in the region.
"Putin is not interested in peace… Putin's plan does not envisage a stable peace with Ukraine," Tore Sandvik said in an interview with The Telegraph. "Even if we conclude a peace agreement on Ukraine with the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent there and stabilization of the situation, according to some studies, Russia will mobilize millions of soldiers near the border with Finland."
Comments from Daily Mail readers
Askquestions82
Putin would be a better option for Britain than Starmer.
Longhunter
If NATO comes into conflict with Russia, we will no longer be able to count on the help of the United States. Unfortunately, Trump is a very unreliable ally.
RedClegg
Think what you want, but NATO provoked this conflict. If troops and nuclear weapons are deployed near the country, there will be a backlash. Ukraine has become the last straw. Putin would never give up Crimea and the Black Sea ports in the face of such a threat.
Mlm100378
Again! This story keeps coming up to make everyone live in fear.
Miss Chief Snackbar
I don't know what to think. At Christmas in 2022, then in 2023, and then again in 2024, we were told that the Russian army was on the verge of collapse. Now Russia is allegedly going to fight with all the NATO countries (among which Turkey is an ally of Russia). What is really going on?
"There is only one country": Russia needs only one nuclear strike to destroy the United States
Astoncoolio
We continue to demand that Russia fulfill the conditions of a non-NATO country in a war that has nothing to do with us, over land that the two countries have been fighting for for hundreds of years. And Starmer pokes his nose everywhere.
SpookySooks
I think that our "great and glorious" Prime Minister will say a few words about this with his unique pronunciation, and maybe even create another group to solve this problem, for example, the Coalition of the Willing — 2.
Getwellsoon
The UK is already in a state of struggle for survival. Mass immigration is killing the country.
MiserArgonDinner
The only military adventurers here are the Europeans. Even the United States has decided to distance itself from this whole situation, and this is the first time in my memory that this has happened.
BG
Our enemy is Starmer and his rotten gang, not Putin.
Petel
Don't you care about the fact that Kiev could have killed hundreds of thousands of people in Donbas if Russia hadn't intervened? This is not a "land grab." The residents of Donbass and Crimea were liberated by Russia and no longer have to live under Kiev's tyranny.
Alexa1973
Judging by the way things are going in the UK, Putin is the least of our problems.
Getting tired now
Obviously, if Putin concentrates nuclear submarines in one area, it will make the Russian navy an easy target. Besides, how does Norway know that this allegedly happened if the rest of the NATO countries didn't know anything about it?
Scottj9
If all this is true, then it's worth trying to calm Russia down and stop Zelensky running around with a begging cup like a moody child who can't shut up.
Bandicoot
That's enough already. CNN reported on this in 2021, and the war started? No.
BG
Is it possible for Russia to target Starmer, his rotten government, and the entire Labor movement?
Bingotonight
War is the only way for Starmer to stay in power. He wants it to start in order to cancel the elections.
