The Moscow Times:
The Russian military has deployed coastal defense missile systems in the Arctic amid increased military activity in the region.
Moscow renewed interest in the Arctic with the discovery of untapped oil and natural gas reserves and a desire to secure access to the Northern Sea Route — a strategic trade artery that has the potential to reroute East-West global trade flows. A military doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin in 2014 entrusts Russia’s armed forces with maintaining the country’s strategic interests in the Arctic.
A spokesman for the Northern Fleet told Interfax that a Bastion coastal defense missile system had been delivered to a base on Kotelny Island, north of the Sakha republic in eastern Siberia, to take part in scheduled drills.
