The Arctic Debrief: Biden Admin Sanctions Target Russian Northern Assets

In this edition:

• Biden Admin Sanctions Target Russian Northern Assets
• Norway Tightens Arctic Security Ties with Allies
• Russian Lawmaker Advocates Seizing Control of Svalbard

Latest Developments

Biden Admin Sanctions Target Russian Northern Assets

The Biden Administration announced a few final sanctions targeting Russia, before Donald Trump took over the office on Jan. 20. The list includes a northern seaport and a lithium mine.

Sanctions were placed on the newly constructed port of Lavna, on the Kola peninsula of Russia's Northwest Murmansk Oblast, was a major infrastructure project that aimed to refocus Russia's trade towards the Northern Sea Route.

The port was being built with the goal of becoming a major centre for the developing trade route between Asia and Europe. During a visit to the construction site, Putin noted that the completion of the hub should be a top priority and must be complete as soon as possible.

Now that the company overseeing the project came under US sanctions, the development is likely to come to a halt. A similar situation happened at the nearby Belokamenka LNG facility that has shut down operations due to western sanctions.

The lithium mine, also located on the Kola peninsula, is a joint venture between Russia's Polar Lithium and Chinese state owned construction conglomerate, MCC International Incorporation Ltd. The Chinese were supposed to help with research, development and extraction of lithium to be used for electric batteries. Now that the Russian company is sanctioned it is likely that their Chinese partner may abandon the project. The mine was set to produce an annual 2 million tons of ore and 45,000 tons of lithium hydroxide and carbonate.

Norway Tightens Arctic Security Ties with Allies

The Norwegian government has signed separate documents with France and the US to increase cooperation on Arctic defense.

Just a few days prior to Trump's inauguration, Norway has signed the Technology Safeguards Agreement with the US, which allows the transfer of American commercial launchers to be transported to Norway.

These launchers will be used at the Andøya air station which will host long range drones, military aircraft, and a joint US-Norwegian early warning systems base. The air station is quickly becoming an important asset to the NATO allies as they make efforts to improve security across the Arctic. Additionally, Andøya is used for testing new military hardware.

More recently, Norway and France signed a letter of intent on enhanced defense cooperation. The agreement emphasizes the need for improved situational awareness and presence in the High North.

The letter will allow the two nations to conduct more joint military exercises in the Arctic and will increase their ability to deal with hybrid threats, as well as protect critical infrastructure, such as underwater sea cables and energy pipelines.

The Norwegian military has also launched a new micro satellite to monitor vessel traffic in the Arctic via their Automatic Identification System (AIS). The satellite is equipped with a newly developed low-light camera to photograph. The camera will be able to monitor ships that have turned off their AIS transponder in an attempt to be invisible.

This is a method that Russia's "shadow" fleet has attempted to use to covertly load Russian LNG and try to sell it without being spotted. Nearly all attempts to do so have failed.

Russian Lawmaker Advocates Seizing Control of Svalbard

Russian lawmaker Andrey Gurulyov appeared on Russian television suggesting that Russia should establish a military presence on the Svalbard archipelago, currently under Norwegian sovereignty, and reach a deal with Donald Trump to receive "a share of Greenland."

Gurulyov's reasoning is that both are strategically important to Russia's Northern Fleet and if America is looking to expand its presence in the North, Russia should as well.

Gurulyov emphasized the potential benefits of establishing military bases on the island, which he believes would enhance Russia's strategic position in the Arctic region. While the politician is not highly influential and his comments should be taken with a grain of salt, this is how the Russian state normalizes "wild" ideas.

The lawmaker also claimed that "the war in the Arctic has begun" and Russia should expand its influence and presence in the Arctic while the political environment is volatile.