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Russian defense minister to inspect air defense units in Arctic

Russian Defense Minister General Sergey Shoigu is on a working trip to check the combat training organization and inspect military units stationed on Alexandra Land
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu Artiom Geodakyan/TASS
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu
© Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

SEVEROMORSK, April 18. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu will inspect air defense units of the Northern Fleet’s antiaircraft defense division, as well as check the progress of construction of the Arktichesky Trilistnik (Arctic Trefoil) administrative and residential compound on the Alexandra Land Island (Franz-Joseph Land archipelago), Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Monday.

"Russian Defense Minister General Sergey Shoigu arrived in the Northern Fleet on a working trip to check the combat training organization and inspect military units stationed on Alexandra Land Island," the official said.

Shoigu will also hear a report by the Northern Fleet commander on the organization of the training and combat instruction practice, construction of military infrastructure in the Arctic zone, re-equipment of the naval forces with modern samples of weapons and military equipment.

Also, the minister will hand the naval banners to the Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Korolev and Northern Fleet Commander Nikolai Yevmenov, Konashenkov said.

The Northern Fleet said previously that the Arctic Trefoil compound on the Alexandra Land Island of the Franz Josef Land archipelago that is part of the military infrastructure of the Russian Northern Fleet in the Arctic was 97% complete. The overall readiness of all facilities that are under construction on the island was over 60% The Arctic Trefoil administrative and residential compound today is the world’s only capital construction facility being built on the 80th parallel north. Its area exceeds 14,000 square meters, the Northern Fleet reported.

The facility’s self-sufficiency will ensure comfortable accommodation and work conditions for a group of 150 people during 1.5 years. The facility has fuel and lubricant depots, food products and clothing storages with reserves for this period. Innovative energy-efficient technology to minimize power consumption is used in the facility construction. The compound under construction will have a technical floor, which will make it possible to service comfortably all its utility systems, including in cold weather.

Arctic Trefoil is the second unique closed-cycle autonomous life support system compound that is being built in the interests of Russia’s Northern Fleet in high-latitude regions of the Arctic. The first facility called Severny Klever (Northern Clover) was built on the 75th parallel north on the Kotelny Island of New Siberian Islands archipelago.

At the end of 2014, Russia formed a combined strategic command on the basis of the Northern Fleet. Situation monitoring and air defense units have already entered combat duty on some of the islands. The Defense Ministry has declared plans for building up its military group in the Chukchi Peninsula with the aim to maintain security of the Northern Sea Route and repel likely threats in the Arctic.