Defense ministry to engage in environmental cleanup of the Arctic
© RIA Novosti. Vitaliy Ankov

Defense ministry to engage in environmental cleanup of the Arctic

Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said after the ministry's first telephone conference in 2015, that the Russian Defense Ministry will cooperate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on an environmental cleanup project in the Russian Arctic, RIA Novosti reports.

The ministry has formed specialized ad hoc units that will pull down dilapidated and fallen structures, introduce land reclamation where needed, and transport scrap to the mainland.

"According to presidential directives, the defense ministry, along with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, will carry out environmental cleanups at military bases in the Arctic. Currently specialists are assessing the real environmental state of these bases, including those dating back to the Soviet period," he said, adding that Russian military presence will not affect the environment.

"Our ministry is taking into account international environmental security regulations in the Arctic," he said.