Alaska Beat

Russians activate military base on Wrangel Island

A Russian radar installation with prefabricated modules on Wrangel Island has started operations, ITAR-TASS reported Tuesday, with a contractor presenting a symbolic key to the site. Construction of the military post began earlier this fall.

"The compound's design allows the personnel to move from unit to unit without venturing into the Arctic chill,"a spokesman for the Eastern Military District said,

Wrangel is off the northeast coast of Russia, more than 300 miles northwest of Point Hope.

Russian Defense Minisiter Sergey Shoygu said it is part of an Arctic expansion under which "we will have many of our subunits across the entire Arctic belt, actually from Murmansk to Chukotka."

The Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta said Oct. 3 that radar installations on Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt on the Arctic Coast have started operations.

"Large deposits of hydrocarbons and other minerals have been discovered in disputed territories in the Arctic. Therefore, the establishment of new military bases and facilities is a forced measure. The Russian Federation must protect its interests there, and it does protect them," Col Eduard Rodyukov, a member of the Academy of Military Sciences, was quoted as saying.

"According to the expert, the appearance of Russian military radar stations near the border with the United States 'is not an aggressive action but a deterrent factor that helps our country to meet its geopolitical and economic objectives with the aid of military force,'" the Russian newspaper said.

The island has been recognized and protected for its ecological uniqueness, but has also been the target of recent recent Russian efforts to seek oil and gas in the region.

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