A Merlin helicopter lands on the deck of the UK Navy's HMS Albion on March 7 in Vagsfjord, southeast of Harstad, Norway.
Photographer: Danielle Bochove/Bloomberg
The Arctic Is the New Spot for NATO and Russia to Flex Their Military Muscle
Moscow houses nuclear submarines in the region, which is set to increase in strategic importance for major powers including the US and China.
A submarine snakes through a fjord in Norway alongside a British amphibious transport ship, as F-35 fighter jets roar overhead. NATO forces are gathered for a joint drill to repel a simulated invasion, albeit one where the enemy seems anything but theoretical.
President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine may be raging thousands of kilometers to the south, but in the remote Arctic there is a close watch on his military activities. It’s an increasingly important region for energy, trade and security, and one where Russia, the US, China and others are vying for greater control.