Over 700 mln rubles has been spent to remove scrap metal from the Arctic that had been there since the Soviet era; over 5,000 old barrels were removed from the Arctic region, President of the Russian Geographical Society Sergei Shoigu told journalists.

"The work has not stopped. Some funds were provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Over 700 million rubles has been spent to date," he said.

According to Mr. Shoigu, much of the work was done thanks to support from regional heads, businessmen and entrepreneurs. In addition, the Defense Ministry purchased equipment to recycle the barrels on Wrangel Island and the New Siberian Islands.

"Over 5,000 barrels have already been recycled, taking into account that the Defense Ministry's transport operates in the Arctic 12 times more efficiently than in the previous years. The transport delivers cargo to Cape Schmidt, Wrangel Island, Sredny Island, Kotelny Island and the New Siberian Islands and takes away scrap metal," he said.

Mr. Shoigu stressed the importance of this work. "Please keep an eye on it. So much scrap metal has accumulated there over the years that our generation will hardly manage to remove all of it," he said.