Russian Defense Ministry environmental cleanup units have completed over 25 percent of their 2017 plan to remove waste from the Arctic, according to the ministry's website. About 1,100 tons of scrap metal has been collected so far.

Northern Fleet, the Central and Eastern military districts, and the Defense Ministry's 12^th Main Directorate all have personnel involved in the efforts. This year, the cleaning of the area around military units, barracks, and training grounds in the Arctic is taking place on the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago (the Belushya Guba, Rogachyovo and Severny villages), the New Siberian Islands (Kotelny and Kildin islands) and several other locations.

Military personnel are expected to collect over 3,900 tons of scrap metal by the end of the year. Defense Ministry environmental relief units will also continue to demolish dilapidated and destroyed structures, reclaim land in the territories controlled by the military and ship scrap metal from the Arctic to the mainland for further recycling.

Between June 1 and October 1, 2016, the military collected 6,054 tons of scrap metal and transferred 4,778 tones to the mainland. Additionally, 90 rundown buildings at the Central Training Ground on Novaya Zemlya were demolished. As a result, the 2015 and 2016 cleaning initiatives cleared a total of 162 hectares.

This year, 186 service personnel are involved in the environmental cleaning of the Arctic, as well as dozens of special machines and vehicles, and auxiliary fleet ships.