Vladimir Putin has pledged to increase Russia’s military presence in the Arctic in a move that could see Kremlin troops face off against British commandos.
Putin said he feared that Nato intends to use the far north to launch invasions.
The Russian President made his chilling speech after Donald Trump set his sights on taking control of Greenland, with Vice President JD Vance due to fly to the Danish territory today.
Speaking about his Nato concerns, Putin referred to the far north countries of Sweden and Finland – who joined the defence alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – as Nato’s ‘new recruits’. Both countries have vast land armies, while Britain’s Royal Marines are experts in Arctic warfare and have a permanent base in Norway.
Speaking in the Arctic port of Murmansk yesterday, Putin said: ‘We are certainly concerned about Nato members describing the far north as the region of possible conflicts.
‘Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure.
‘We will not allow encroachments on the sovereignty of our country and will reliably protect our national interests.’
Putin – whose military muscle dwarfs the UK’s – said the port capacity of the Russian city of Murmansk should be at least trebled in the coming years, thanks to the construction of new terminals and railway links.
Energy supplies beneath Arctic ice, including fossil fuels and minerals, are the prizes in this Cold War-style dispute. These are becoming more accessible due to global warming.
Trump, meanwhile, said he intended to acquire Greenland ‘one way or the other’, and the US Army has been training in Alaska to prepare for Arctic combat. With US-Russian relations thawing, the countries could team up, leaving Britain and other European states in the cold.
Putin said he believed Trump’s play for Greenland was ‘serious’, adding: ‘It would be a grave mistake to think that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration.
‘Those plans have deep historic roots and it is obvious that the US will continue to promote their geopolitical, military and economic interests in the Arctic.
‘As for Greenland, I think that this is an issue that concerns two states and has nothing to do with us. However, we are concerned by the fact that the Nato countries increasingly identify the far north as a foothold.’
As a key nautical gateway, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways. Russia is building a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreaker ships in the Arctic and plans to increase the size of its merchant fleet.
Russia, the US and Britain see the Arctic as crucial for national security, and Russian and Chinese submarine activity in the region has increased.
The recent rapprochement between Russia and the US over the Ukraine invasion could prove a springboard for energy trade deals.
In his speech, Putin said: ‘We need to create conditions for the growth of effective domestic operators that will engage in transporting containers of coal and other cargo through the Arctic. We are also open here to the creation of joint ventures.’
Earlier this year, Putin suggested Russia could work with the US to develop natural resources in the Arctic. The region is believed to hold up to a fourth of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.
Russia’s Arctic forces are focused on air and naval operations. Its troops have been permanently based there since 2013, and its Arctic Brigade, formed in 2015, consists of motorised infantry brigades, Special Forces units and naval infantry. Russia also has a ‘shadow fleet’ of foreign-flagged commercial vessels that are suspected to undertake military tasks such as deploying divers and cutting seabed energy cables.
British forces have been upping their presence in the region, too, as the UK and Nato seeks to put its stamp on the High North.
More than 2,000 personnel from the UK Commando Force have spent the opening months of 2025 sharpening their skills in the brutal sub-zero tundra of northern Norway.
The Commandos’ annual training underscores Britain’s commitment to deterring aggression by Putin to Nato’s northern flank and across Norway’s complex coastline, frozen fjords and mountains.
Codenamed ‘Joint Viking’, the war games brought together some 10,000 troops form nine nations as they drilled how to operate together to face off against Putin’s troops.
Elite green berets from 45 Commando launched night-time raids onto the rugged and mountainous Senja Island from amphibious ship RFA Lyme Bay, flying in by helicopter or racing to the shore in small inflatable raiding craft to carry out their daring mission.
Putin has already ordered his country to increase its troop numbers to 1.5million active servicemen, in a move that would make Russia’s army the second largest in the world after China.
The Russian tyrant last year green-lit plans to bulk out the military by around 180,000 new troops.
It comes as he continues to grapple with devastating loses in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has not revealed any recent figures on how many troops have been killed or wounded in its relentless push to try and topple Kyiv.
However, earlier this month British military intelligence claimed Putin’s forces had suffered the largest troop losses since the Second World War during its invasion.
In an intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence said up to 250,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since Putin launched his ‘special military operation’ in February 2022.
The MoD added that despite the fact Russia has, in total, 900,000 casualties since invading, ‘Putin and the Russian military leadership [is] highly likely to prioritise their military objectives over the lives of Russian soldiers’.
However, it’s believed Putin’s forces would still outnumber Britain’s by more than 10 to one, with nine times as many jets and 10 times as many tanks.
According to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a leading military think tank, in 2024 Russia has lost a staggering 1,400 main battle tanks (MBTs) and more than 3,700 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armoured personnel carriers (APCs).
In total, since the invasion began, Russia is estimated to have lost approximately 14,000 MBTs, IFVs and APCs.
However, estimate suggest that Moscow has been able to recoup its loses, pumping out 1,500 tanks a year – and by bringing older models out of storage.
Meanwhile, Britain is estimated to have 213 Challenger 2 tanks – and a total of 136,117 regular military personnel. About 6,500 are elite Royal Marine commandos.
And the army has shrunk to its smallest size in more than 200 years, with around 73,847 soldiers – barely enough to fill three-quarters of Wembley Stadium.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded Britain’s forces in Afghanistan and is a former member of the Joint Intelligence Committee, said the nation’s military had been allowed to ‘wither’ and warned that desperate investment was needed.
He said since Putin’s forces invaded Russia in February 2022, the British Army had shrunk by around 10,000 people.
‘As Putin was rolling around Ukraine and politicians were talking about a much greater threat, we were cutting our army down,’ he told the Mail, adding: ‘Both Army and Navy equipment has been allowed to wither on the vine.
‘One thing Ukraine shows is you still need conventional armed forces on the ground like tanks, artillery and engineering equipment.’
However, it’s important to note that it would be unlikely Britain would ‘go it alone’ should Russia ever attack – a move that would trigger Nato’s Article 5 clause, which says an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all members.
In this situation, Nato would significantly outgun Russia. It has a combined military budget of more than $1trillion, with around three million active troops, double that of Russia’s. And it has more than 14,000 tanks, 21,100 aircraft and almost 2,000 warships.
Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to hike military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 after pressure from US President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a fresh £2.2billion package of cash for defense to ‘revolutionise’ the armed forces.
However, critics have said the funding is not enough and that more cash needs to be pumped into the MoD and into Britain’s defence industry to stave off the threat posed by Russia.