NATO bolsters Arctic defenses against rising Russian threat

By AFP and Global Watch | 2025-02-28

As Russia escalates its military posturing in the Arctic and beyond, NATO members have conducted large-scale military exercises and reinforced their presence in the far north in an effort to ramp up their defenses.

The Steadfast Defender drills, which included NATO's newest members Sweden and Finland, in March last year simulated assaults on the organization's frigid Arctic fringe as part of a sprawling, four-month exercise -- the largest drills staged by the US-led military alliance since the Cold War.

The exercises involved 90,000 troops from all 32 NATO allies.

The Arctic war games saw Swedish gunboats racing to shore, Italian paratroopers descending from helicopters and French marines navigating the terrain on skis -- each maneuver sending a clear message: NATO is prepared to protect itself in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia amid the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.

The alliance got even larger last year as Sweden became its 32nd member almost a year after its Nordic neighbor Finland joined.

"We're signaling that we are ready to defend our territories, and that's very important at the same time as strengthening our capabilities to operate together," Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told AFP last March, after watching tanks from his country engage in a mock battle on the Norwegian-Finnish border.

"Right now the Russian ground forces are bogged down in Ukraine, but Russia has stated high ambitions to reconstitute itself and adapt its force posture," Jonson said.

As Russia has begun turning the tide on outgunned Ukrainian troops, there have been warnings that Moscow could one day turn its sights on a member of the alliance.

Arctic is 'hugely strategic'

While the Kremlin's forces are depleted after heavy losses in Ukraine, Russia has switched its economy to war mode.

Kyiv's western allies meanwhile have struggled to ramp up production of crucial weaponry and support for Ukraine is wavering.

Norway's defense chief, Eirik Kristoffersen, last March said the number of Russian forces stationed near his country is currently just one fifth of the number before Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"But on the maritime side, on the air side, and on the nuclear side, they've kept their forces intact in our region," he told AFP.

"You have this uncertainty about for how long they will continue to lose so much versus Ukraine and then how long will it take for them to rebuild their military."

One increasingly crucial area of competition with Russia is the harsh Arctic region where the exercise was staged.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has ramped up its capabilities in the region where melting ice due to global warming looks set to open up vital shipping routes and resources like oil, gas and minerals.

Rear Adm. David Patchell, deputy commander of the US Second Fleet, said last March a conservative estimate was that climate change would open up resources worth $1 trillion in the region.

"We have to know how to work in the Arctic," he told AFP.

"We're playing catch-up but I would say we're cognizant of Russia's priority, and they are placing a significant priority on the Arctic."

Now with the membership of Sweden and Finland, seven of the eight Arctic countries are in NATO and the allies say they're increasingly pushing to compete with Moscow in this vital region.

The Arctic is becoming hugely strategic, and "that's why Russia is investing here a lot, and China is also watching this area," said Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.

"The Arctic is a new focus area. We must invest in the capabilities to act here in the normal military fields but also in the intelligence side and other fields," he added.

Growing threats

NATO member Canada has recognized the growing threats in the region and announced a new doctrine late last year that calls for it to boost its military and diplomatic presence in the Arctic to counter Russia.

The government envisions the deployment of new patrol ships and navy destroyers, ice breakers and submarines capable of operating beneath ice sheets, as well as more aircraft and drones, according to the foreign policy document unveiled in December.

Along with the United States, it is modernizing continental defenses including surveillance of northern approaches with new maritime sensors and satellites.

The new strategy notes that Ottawa for years has sought to manage the Arctic cooperatively with other states and keep it free from military competition.

"However, guardrails that prevent conflicts are increasingly under immense strain," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a news conference at the time.

"The Arctic is no longer a low-tension region," she said, blaming Russian designs on the Arctic and deepening geopolitical rivalries.

The minister said Russia was teaming up in the far north with China, which is itself seeking greater influence in the governance of the region.

Growing access is heightening security challenges, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair warned in December.

Canada's revised doctrine, he said, calls for strengthening military capabilities to "conduct and sustain operations in the Arctic" where biting cold and unpredictable storms, long periods of darkness and drifting sea ice pose severe hazards.

Ottawa will seek deeper collaboration -- including more joint military drills -- with allied Nordic nations.

The report outlining Canada's shift highlighted recent increased Russian activity along the edges of North American airspace.

It called "deeply troubling" Russian weapon testing and deployment of missile systems in the Arctic capable of striking North America and Europe.

Canada additionally accused China of regularly deploying in the north vessels equipped with dual-use military-research capabilities to collect data.