Russia a strategic challenge for NATO in arctic

Russia’s capabilities in the North are a strategic challenge for NATO, its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, welcoming Canada’s recently
announced investments in North American defense systems after making his first visit to the Canadian arctic.
“The importance of the high North is increasing for NATO and for Canada because we see a significant Russian military buildup,” Stoltenberg said, standing alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Cold Lake, Alberta.
Russia has reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military sites in the arctic, using the region to test new weapons systems, Stoltenberg said. He also warned that Russia and China were forming a strategic arctic partnership that challenged NATO’s values and interests.
Canada has been criticized for spending too little on its military capabilities as a NATO member. But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada said in June it would invest C$4.9 billion ($3.8 billion) over the next six years to modernize NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canadian North American defense
organization.