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Norway to strengthen military presence near border with Russia
Norway is set to release more than €300 million this year to bolster its military presence in the far north near the border with Russia. The government has announced that.
"Although a Russian attack on Norway is unlikely, we must realize that to the east we have a neighbor that has become more dangerous and unpredictable," Norwegian Defense Minister Odd Roger Enoksen said at a news conference.
The pack will be used to increase the naval presence in the north, increase training for the active army and reserve, increase supplies of ammunition, fuel and other essential equipment, facilities for receiving Allied forces and strengthen cyber defense and intelligence services.
As guardian of NATO's northern borders in Europe, Norway shares 196 kilometers of land border with Russia in the Arctic and a huge sea border in the Barents Sea.
"We need to increase our presence in the far north," Enoksen said. "Russia has significant security interests in our area and the far north is also of great economic importance to Russia," he said.
Norway is currently undergoing major naval, air and land maneuvers involving some 30,000 soldiers from 27 countries, both NATO members and alliance partners (Sweden and Finland).
Exercise "Cold Response 2022" aims to test Norway's ability to receive Allied reinforcements in the event of outside aggression, in accordance with Article 5 of the Alliance's Charter, which requires all members to use one of their own in the event of an attack. to come to the rescue.
It also allows allied forces to train for cold weather combat.
