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Why possible US-Russia nuclear war could start in the Arctic

2022-10-23 23:10:02Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

 

Why possible US-Russia nuclear war could start in the Arctic
American paratroopers, in an exercise in Alaska

 

The North Pole could become the great nuclear battlefield between the United States and Russia. And all this, because of climate change.

As a result of global warming, new roads are being opened in the Arctic, and a US senator says his country has fallen behind Vladimir Putin in terms of dominance in the northernmost part of the world. "A new ocean is appearing on our maps, and this has some consequences," Senator Angus King of Maine told CNN. "To be honest, we've been good at keeping up."

 

 

An anti-ship missile is fired by the Russian Northern Fleet near its base in the Arctic. Images: Ministry of Defense of Russia

 

Since the 1970s, when the world was mired in the Cold War, summer sea ice extent has decreased by about 50% in the Arctic. King, who co-chairs the US Senate Arctic Committee, says the US needs to move faster in the region to take advantage of the oil and natural gas resources emerging there due to climate change, but also to open up new sea routes. "In the Mediterranean Sea, 1000 years of wars were fought to establish the relations of the states that were wet by it. The question is, can we open up the Arctic and avoid conflict?” he said.

Some scientists have predicted that near the North Pole the ice could completely disappear during the summer, within a few decades, and according to King, the sea routes that would be opened as a result, would bring great economic advantages to the countries that will know how to use them. . "But Russia has a giant border in the Arctic Ocean, which it is heavily militarizing. This is a matter of national security and it affects us all".

Why possible US-Russia nuclear war could start in the Arctic
American submarine USS Hartford moving in the arctic circle

CNN entered the largest Russian base in the Arctic in 2021, and its leaders vowed at the time that the Russian state's intentions were peaceful. "But Ukraine changed everything," says King. "If he succeeds in Ukraine, I don't believe he will stop there."

King is worried that Putin could use nuclear weapons to reassert his hegemony in Ukraine, after losses suffered in recent weeks. "He has several options on the table in terms of tactical nuclear weapons, and one of them is a demonstration in the Arctic," King says. "The idea is that he can drop the bomb there to show what he can do without killing all those people."

King, who is an independent senator but often sides with Democrats on certain issues, welcomed Joe Biden's decision to name an ambassador for the Arctic as well as the new national strategy for the region that was adopted this month. However, he says the US needs to invest more to compete. "Russia has 40 icebreakers, we have none," King said. According to him, even other states that do not have access to the Arctic, such as China and India, are no longer hiding their ambitions. At an Arctic conference held in Iceland a few years ago, King says the Chinese delegation had 40 members, which shows the great interest the region arouses among them.


The icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" (50 years of victory) moving in the Arctic Circle in January 2021. Images: "Rosatom", State Nuclear Energy Corporation

King called for an increased military presence in the Arctic, not only in personnel but also in infrastructure. Also, according to him, the US should commit to the implementation of international maritime laws in the Arctic as well, in order to avoid war in the future.


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