One sailor died in a fire yesterday aboard Northern Fleet’s aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov”, which currently is on a tour of duty in the Mediterranean.

The Norwegian Coast Guard is planning a drastic increase in air surveillance over fishery areas in the Barents Sea, after a Norwegian-Russian agreement on satellite tracking of fishery vessels was suspended on December 1.

The Russian Armed Forces are going through radical reforms to become more mobile and more capable to solve local conflicts with neighbouring states.

In her annual speech in the Oslo Military Society yesterday, Norwegian Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen said that the general higher level of tensions between Russia and the West affect relations also in the High North.

The air wing from the Russian Northern Fleet aircraft carrier ”Admiral Kuznetsov” will conduct training over Greek air territory in January.

The Norwegian Defense will upgrade the infrastructure at the military camp and patrol stations along the border to Russia for some 100 million USD.

A new Russian national security strategy will be adopted in February, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev confirms. The new strategy, which will cover the period until 2020, includes a high level of focus on the energy potentials of the Arctic.

Sea trials of Russia's first Borey-class strategic nuclear submarine “Yury Dolgoruky” have been postponed until spring 2009. The reasons are said to be the accident on the submarine “Nerpa” and the recent failed launch of the new “Bulava” sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile.

The FSB’s border guard service has opened a museum in Murmansk. You will need a special permission to get there, however.

Tuesday morning the Russian Navy conducted a test launch of the new “Bulava” sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile. The test ended in failure.

The first Soviet nuclear powered submarine, the “K-3”, later named “Leninsky Komsomol”, was delivered to the Soviet navy December 17 1958.

The Zvezdochka shipyard in Seveodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, hopes for an extended industrial cooperation with Chinese military authorities. Last week, the company director accompanied Russian Minister of Defence Anatoly Serdyukov to Beijing

Foreign intelligence services continue to try to obtain classified information on the Sevmash shipyard in Russia's northern Arkhangelsk Region, a senior FSB official said. The countries involved included the United States and "some of its NATO allies".

The Russian military-industrial complex will receive considerable amounts in state financial support in order to lessen the negative consequences of the economic crisis.

On Friday, more than ten F-16 fighter jets will perform in the skies above northern Norway in the formation of a Christmas star.

Russia plans another test launch of a “Bulava” missile December 21. If the test is successful, the Russian Navy will put the missile into service.

In its session last week, the EU Council not only reached agreement on a new energy and climate change package. It also approved a historic agreement on the European Security and Defence Policy.

At the moment, 13 vessels from the Russian Navy are operating on different oceans around the world. This is the highest number since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Energy security and climate change will be high on the agenda when the EU this week adopts its renewed European security strategy.

In course of the last eight years 73 rockets have been launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Arkhangelsk Oblast does not receive any compensation for the damages brought on the environment from the activity and claims that the Ministry of Defence neglects to fulfil concluded agreements.