ROGACHYOVO (Novaya Zemlya), October 25. /TASS/. Infrastructure preparedness on Arctic islands has allowed Russian army units to assume combat duty, Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said on Tuesday.

"The infrastructure preparedness on all the Arctic islands has already allowed units there to assume combat duty," the deputy defense minister said, adding that work for the accommodation of troops in the Arctic would be continued.

The creation of permanently operating military aerodromes in the Arctic, including Tiksi, Anadyr, Vorkuta, Temp on Kotelny Island are at the stage of designing and preparatory work, he said.

The construction of the Nagurskoye aerodrome on the Alexandra Land Island, part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, is in full swing. The airfield will be put into operation in 2017 and will be fully equipped in 2018, he added.

Also, "measures are planned to build a new a new berth for loading and unloading supplies and hardware in the settlement of Severny on Novaya Zemlya," he said.

The creation of military infrastructure in the Arctic is a unique project "by the organization of logistics, the delivery of supplies and cargoes, and also construction and assembly works," the Russian deputy defense minister said.

"For the first time in the history of modern Russia, works on such a scale are being carried out in the conditions of the Extreme North," he said.