The Defense Ministry plans to complete the outfitting of military facilities on the Arctic islands in 2016, the Defense Minister, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, said, according to RIA Novosti. "First, all island facilities need to be completed and from there we will proceed to the second stage of construction and development of our bases in the Arctic," Shoigu said at a teleconference.

The Defense Minister also pointed out that the development of infrastructure on the Kuril Islands will be completed this year. At present, military garrisons are under construction, and work to reconstruct old and build new residential houses, schools, kindergartens and sports centers are also underway on the Iturup and Kunashir islands.