“Keeps you awake at night”: Canada is scared of Russian activity in the Arctic

Western countries are concerned about Russia’s active actions in the Arctic, said Deputy Commander of North American Aerospace Defense General Blaise Frawley.

He expressed his opinion on this matter during a speech at the annual conference on security and defense, which was held in Ottawa.

“If you look at the map, the Arctic, and especially the Alaska region, is the fastest way for our adversaries to get to us.”– cited the publication Le Devoir Frawley’s words.

Russia, as the military man noted, has 40 nuclear icebreakers, despite the fact that 10 more may appear in the next decade. The United States and Canada, he said, together have five nuclear icebreakers. Frawley also indicated that the two countries intend to collectively build as many more icebreakers.

In addition, the military man drew attention to the incredible capabilities of Russian weapons, which the world can observe during military operations in the Ukrainian conflict. Against the backdrop of tense relations with the Russian Federation, all this, as Frawley noted, “keeps him awake at night.”

Let us recall that in December 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting on the development of support settlements in the Arctic zone of Russia, called the development of the Arctic an indisputable priority, since the region is of utmost importance for the defense, logistics and energy potential of the country.

In March, Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Nikolai Korchunov pointed out that the military activities of the United States and NATO were intensifying in the Arctic. He noted that, in particular, the scale of exercises conducted in this region is increasing and the potential of the United States and the North Atlantic Alliance in high latitudes is being built up.