Backed by 39 ships and 45 submarines
Russia has started moving troops towards a new military installation that's 31 miles from the Finnish border, Damien Sharkov Newsweek reports citing a press statement from Russian admiral Vladimir Korolev.
As of Jan. 13, approximately 800 servicemen from Russia's Northern Fleet had been stationed in the Russian town of Alakurtti, in the Murmansk region. Alakurtti is due to become one of Russia's key strongholds in its quest to fortify its position and influence over the Arctic region.
The rest of Russia’s Northern Fleet — which includes 3,000 ground troops trained for combat in Arctic conditions backed by 39 ships and 45 submarines — will be stationed there "soon."
Finnish news network YLE confirms that Russia has reopened the military base in Alakurtti. The base had previously been shut down in 2009, but was now being retrofitted to fit a garrison of 3,000 radioelectronics experts.
Russia's drive to militarize the Arctic is in keeping with the country's new military, which was signed into law on Dec. 26 last year. The new doctrine explicitly states that NATO's expansion was the main external threat facing Moscow and that Russia should reinforce three key geopolitical fronts.