Reports indicate that Russia has plans to construct three new military bases on islands in the Arctic Ocean. These bases are located only about 300 miles from the mainland of the United States.
In the Arctic Ocean, Russia plans to construct bases on Wrangel Island, Kotelny Island and at Cape Schmidt. The news has been confirmed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Shoigu said, “We’re not hiding this from anyone, we have practically finished creating the base in the Novosibirsk Archipelago, on the island of Kotelny. This is a really large base that was never seen during the Soviet times, and it has modern equipment, all of the needed equipment for these boundaries.”
Russia hopes to finish its constructions on the islands of the Arctic Ocean by 2018.
Additionally, Russia also has plans to construct a military base on the disputed Kurile Islands in the Pacific, which is just 20 miles away from Japan. Russia actually seized the islands from Japan near the end of World War II. Even decades later, the two countries have still not signed a formal peace treaty following the end of the war.
The new base will undoubtedly anger Japan, which already has a tense relationship with Russia. In Japan, the islands are commonly referred to as the Northern Territories.
Meanwhile, Russia is continuing to put on demonstrations in Syria as it is conducting a large number of airstrikes against forces of the Islamic State.
The latest move by Russia to construct military bases extremely close to the countries of the United States and Japan seems to be way of taunting their perceived rivals.
The strategy will allow Russia to have troops, warplanes and military vehicles stationed in all four corners of Asia. Indeed, many military experts view the move as Russia’s way of challenging for global military supremacy.
The moves all point to the possibility of Russia trying to launch a major attack against the Western World. For now, the United States and other countries will continue to monitor the situation to make sure that Vladimir Putin does not do anything drastic.
Stay Connected
