In what is described as its largest naval exercises undertaken since the end of the Soviet era, the Russian navy has amassed as fleet of dozens of warships off the coast of Alaska, the Associated Press reports.
“We are holding such massive drills there for the first time ever,” Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov said in a statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry. “We are building up our forces to ensure the economic development of the region. We are getting used to the Arctic spaces.”
Russia has asserted its claims to territorial waters in the Arctic regions, particularly given that shipping routes through the region are opening up because of the loss of the ice cap due to climate change.