Russia re-opening Soviet-era military bases in Arctic, Kallas says

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said this while speaking to journalists ahead of the European Arctic Summit in Finland on Monday, Ukrinform reports. She noted that Russia is “opening ex-Soviet military bases, doing the missile testing here, in the Far North, showing clearly that this is a very important area.” Kallas added that climate change is opening up new maritime routes that are becoming “increasingly important for the rest of the world.” “The increasing power competition is truly unique here,” the EU High Representative stressed. She separately noted that security and the environment are interconnected in certain respects, as Russia’s shadow fleet, among other threats it poses, is an “ecological bomb.