Russia is amassing nuclear weapons and attack submarines in the Arctic Circle as it prepares for war with Nato, Norway’s defence minister has warned.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Tore Sandvik said Oslo had detected increased weapons development on Russia’s Kola peninsula, where its prized Northern Fleet and parts of its nuclear stockpile are based.
He also said that Vladimir Putin was trying to gain full naval control over the Arctic region so that he could block Nato allies’ access to two key shipping routes that would help resupply Western forces in wartime.
“Russia is building up on the Kola peninsula … where one of the largest arsenals of nuclear warheads in the world is located. They [the nuclear weapons] are not only pointed towards Norway, but towards the UK and over the pole towards Canada and the US,” Mr Sandvik told the Telegraph.
“We are the eyes and ears of Nato in this area, and we see that they’re testing new weapons, for example hypersonic missiles, and they are testing nuclear-driven torpedoes and nuclear warheads,” he added.
Credit: Ben Montgomery
The Kola peninsula lies on Russia’s extreme northwestern flank in the Arctic Circle, where it borders Finland and the furthest northern territories of Norway.
It is notorious for housing the most highly concentrated nuclear weapons stockpile in the world, and plays a crucial role in Moscow’s so-called “second strike” capability.
Russia ‘developing’ Northern Fleet
In nuclear strategy, the “second strike” is a country’s ability to launch a devastating counter-attack against an initial nuclear strike by an enemy power, such as the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent.
The Kola peninsula also serves as a base for the Northern Fleet, the Russian Arctic naval force which was created in 1733 to protect the Russian Empire’s fisheries and shipping routes.
Today, Mr Sandvik said, it serves a more ominous purpose: testing new, powerful Russian weapons and expanding Putin’s nuclear capabilities.
“Even though Putin is losing heavily in Ukraine – he has lost one million soldiers – the Northern Fleet is intact. And they are developing it,” he said.
“They have a new frigate and a new multi-role submarine, developed just in the last two years. The most threatening thing about Russia right now is its submarines. Even though Russia is not able to win in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear warheads and second strike capacity from up here [Kola] makes them a superpower still.”
Even before the latest expansion, the Northern Fleet held at least 16 nuclear-powered submarines and a hypersonic missile type called the Tsirkon, which can travel at eight times the speed of sound.
Along with the United States and the British government, Norway is “watching this 24/7,” Mr Sandvik said. “It’s the most important surveillance in Nato.”
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