The Arctic island group of Svalbard is demilitarized, but temperatures around it are rising. And it’s not just climate change. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO and Russia are increasingly facing off in the ice around the Norwegian archipelago. Svalbard, which includes Spitsbergen, is a unique place: With polar bears, scientific infrastructure like the huge satellite station SvalSat, and a historic treaty that grants over forty countries access. The Svalbard Treaty is also supposed to keep it peaceful. But as the sea ice in the Arctic melts, the area is opening up. That means new economic opportunities and trade routes, but it also means geopolitical shifts. Which is particularly relevant with the Iran war still unfolding, and the outcome of Russia’s war in Ukraine still uncertain. Russia has been building up its military capabilities in the Arctic for decades, with military bases, nuclear submarines and dozens of polar icebreakers – all in the ocean around Svalbard. Now NATO is pushing to catch up.
#mappedout #Russia #nato #dwgeopolitics
0:00 What’s life like in Svalbard?
2:53 What’s so special about the Svalbard Treaty?
4:26 Polar satellite downlink station SvalSat
7:11 Kola peninsula: Russian nuclear submarines and ballistic missiles
7:50 Russia’s Nagurskoye Air Base
8:28 Russia’s "Bastion defense" in the Arctic
11:17 Climate change opening new Arctic sea routes
12:46 The G-I-UK gap
14:38 The icebreaker race
15:58 NATO, more Arctic than ever
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