SEVEROMORSK, April 13. /TASS /. Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet increases its combat capabilities and is now able to efficiently counter threats and challenges in the Arctic, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a meeting in Murmansk Tuesday.
"In order to strengthen the Russian Federation’s defense capability and to protect its national interests in the Arctic, the Defense Ministry carries out a consecutive work on increasing the Northern Fleet’s combat capabilities. It is being equipped with modern military vehicles, adapted for use in harsh climate conditions," he said. "Active combat training and various research and development operations are going on."
Shoigu reminded that the Umka-2021 complex Arctic expedition ended last week.
"Its importance is difficult to overestimate. For the first time in the history of the Soviet and Russian submarine fleet three nuclear submarines surfaced from under the ice simultaneously," the Minister said.
According to Shoigu, "significant attention is being paid to the improvement of the Arctic infrastructure."
"Thanks to the measures taken, the Northern Fleet can efficiently counter the current threats and challenges to Russia in the Arctic," he said.