International: Russia plans to expand its Arctic control zone by 2027
Recently, Russia announced its intention to expand its radar control zone in the Arctic by 2027, according to military sources cited by local media. The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Nikolai Yevmenov, stated at an Arctic-focused forum that the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to enlarge the continuous radar control zone in the region multiple times in the coming years.
The expansion of the radar control zone aligns within a broader initiative aimed at bolstering Russia’s presence in the Arctic. Nikolai Yevmenov emphasized that the Northern Fleet would significantly strengthen to secure Russia’s strategic interests in the region. However, his statement didn’t go unnoticed, as he also mentioned the possibility of Russia withdrawing from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Convention, adopted in 1982 and came into force on November 16, 1994, establishes an international legal framework for maritime spaces, including maritime border delimitation and sovereign rights of coastal states. Russian deputies, including Nikolai Novichkov, confirmed this information, specifying that the State Duma committees will soon discuss denouncing the convention and include it in the agenda.
Nikolai Novichkov highlighted that after the adoption of amendments to the Constitution in 2020, domestic law now takes precedence over international law in Russia. He explained that Russia might no longer adhere to the convention’s provisions, which establish a state’s territorial sea at 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) where it exercises total sovereignty.
