Russia plans Arctic military build-up

Russia has raised the stakes in the international scramble for the Arctic by announcing it will boost its military presence in the region to protect its "national interests".

The defence ministry said naval vessels would be sent to the Arctic Ocean, which is believed to be home to 25 percent of the world's untapped energy resources, as part of a Summer training zone.

Gen Vladimir Shamanov, the head of the combat training directorate, stated that Russia had "highly trained military units" prepared for Arctic warfare.

He revealed that Russia would expand its naval presence in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as part of a strategy to flex the country's growing military might on the world stage


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