Norway’s Minister of Defense, Eirik Kristoffersen, suggested that Russia could resort to an invasion of the country under the pretext of “protecting” its own nuclear potential located on the Kola Peninsula near the Norwegian border.
Source: Censor.NET
According to him, Moscow may view such a scenario as part of a broader plan to secure its strategic nuclear forces, which remain a key element of deterrence while simultaneously posing a threat to the United States.
Kristoffersen emphasized that Russia does not have the same expansionist intentions toward Norway as it does toward Ukraine or other former Soviet territories. At the same time, a significant portion of Russia’s nuclear arsenal is concentrated near the border with Norway, which could potentially make the country important in the event of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.
The minister also noted that Norwegian intelligence currently sees no similar threats regarding Greenland. Instead, Russia’s activity is focused on its traditional area of operations in the Arctic, particularly in the underwater domain.
Separately, Kristoffersen stressed that Russia’s war against Ukraine has become an important lesson for all states: territories can be seized relatively quickly, but maintaining an occupation is an extremely difficult task.
According to him, history shows that expansionist states have repeatedly faced the reality that controlling captured territories turns out to be far more difficult than conquering them.