Closing the Arctic Gaps: NATO Allies and Partners Can Protect Their Homelands by Updating Their Defense Force Postures

Liselotte Odgaard

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Despite the war in Ukraine, Russia has not scaled down its commitment to develop its Arctic region from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait. As analyzed in earlier publications, the Northern Sea Route connects Russia to China, encouraging the two countries to cooperate on developing the energy and shipping potential of Russia’s Arctic coastline. The route also allows them to expand military-strategic collaboration to benefit their economies while posing a hard power threat to the United States and its allies.1

In the Barents Sea near the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) area of operation, China plays a dual-use role in facilitating Russia’s ability to pose a hard-power threat to the US and its allies in northern Europe. Beijing has avoided opening another flank toward the US alliance system in a region China does not prioritize, but Moscow has designed its force posture to protect its nuclear threat against the US and its regional allies.