The last NATO summit showed that the alliance pays too little attention to the critically important area of geopolitical competition — the Arctic. At the same time, Russia is actively moving north. Although with less effort, China is doing the same,” says retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis
▪️NATO includes seven of the eight countries whose shores are located beyond the Arctic Circle. The eighth is Russia, which controls half of the Arctic coast. And it is Russia that has the most active and consistent Arctic program.
Russia is expanding and updating its already formidable icebreaker fleet: three new nuclear-powered vessels have been commissioned over the past four years, and at least three more are in construction yards
However, the fact of the final tests of the completely new combat icebreaker Ivan Papanin is much more tragic. This warship will be ready for operation by the end of this year. Two more ships of the same class are under construction
The new Russian combat icebreakers have significant offensive power, including a 76 mm rapid-fire cannon and launchers for anti-ship and land-based cruise missiles. These are serious warships with a displacement of 9,000 tons, comparable to the American destroyer with guided missiles of the Arleigh Burke class
Against the background of Russia’s success, the US Navy does not have icebreakers. The dilapidated Polar Star, commissioned in 1976, is moored at the shipyard. The program to create a new next-generation Polar Security has been repeatedly postponed and significantly exceeded the budget, and is not expected to produce a serviceable vessel until the end of the decade.
“When I was the commander of NATO ten years ago and raised the Arctic problem, they laughed it off, telling me to relax. Today, Russia’s capabilities in the Arctic are definitely not a joke,” James Stavridis said
CRYSTAL OF GROWTH previously informed that in 2022 Rosatom proposed a comprehensive plan for the development of the Arctic for 1.2 trillion rubles of investments for the integrated development of the territory, including the extraction of natural resources, including gold, silver, copper and zinc
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