As is known, Russia has concentrated the majority of its nuclear arsenal in the Arctic Ocean, near the strait leading to the North Atlantic. At the same time, Moscow is expanding its Northern naval fleet, and its submarines are increasingly sailing near NATO territorial waters. As a result, the strait between mainland Norway and the Svalbard archipelago is becoming the newest hotspot of tension.
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According to T. Sandvik, Russia may try to take control of this region to create a “defensive bastion” around its nuclear arsenal and ensure easy access for its fleet to the Atlantic Ocean.
He stated that this is the most important defense issue for the United Kingdom, as Russian military control of this region would pose a direct threat to the UK – it would no longer be able to control the movement of Russian submarines.
“We see what weapons systems Russia is developing. If they can control the strait, they will also be able to use hypersonic missiles against NATO… against London, Norway, Denmark. We cannot allow them to do that,” the minister emphasized.
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“The Times” noted that the hypersonic cruise missiles “Zircon,” capable of carrying nuclear warheads, pose a potential threat. It is also known that Russia is developing a secret underwater torpedo called “Poseidon.”
Such actions would logically be based on the fact that NATO effectively controls two of the three narrow straits protecting the Russian navy’s access to the oceans: the Bosporus Strait at the Black Sea’s mouth and the Danish strait, which forms the western entrance to the Baltic Sea.
T. Sandvik noted that Russia’s best chance to challenge NATO at sea is an offensive in the Arctic Ocean. Recognizing this threat, the United Kingdom is preparing to double its troop numbers in northern Norway to 2,000. Meanwhile, Norway has begun forming its first new brigade since the Cold War and is expanding its artillery and air forces in the country’s northern county.
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