Overview
- Speaking in Sweden, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said Russian and Chinese forces are increasing joint Arctic patrols, including north of Alaska and near Canada, with Chinese icebreakers conducting military-oriented research such as bathymetric surveys.
- NATO is expanding Arctic-focused intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, improving logistics and mobility, and growing Arctic-capable forces that include contributions from Sweden.
- Joint Force Command Norfolk last month assumed responsibility for all NATO activities in the Arctic to better defend Europe, the High North and the approaches to North America.
- The alliance is prioritizing protection of undersea infrastructure through efforts like the Baltic Sentry operation and closer air and missile defense integration, while tracking hybrid threats such as shadow oil fleets that fund Russia and endanger cables.
- Grynkewich assessed no immediate threat to NATO territory as Russia’s forces remain tied up in Ukraine, even as Moscow tests advanced systems in the Barents Sea, and political tensions persist after President Donald Trump renewed a push for U.S. control of Greenland that Denmark and Greenland reject.