The Barents Observer

08/09/2025

The far northern city that was built near the Soviet Union's biggest gas field celebrates its 50-years-anniversary on the backdrop of international sanctions and depleted reserves. The Power of Siberia 2 is unlikely to give salvage

The city that was built near the Soviet Union's biggest gas field celebrates its 50-years-anniversary on the backdrop of international sanctions and depleted reserves. The Power of Siberia 2 is unlikely to give salvage.

08/09/2025

Moscow's man in Barentsburg is again testing grey-zones in Norway's Svalbard regulations. This time by unveiling a vehicle that is almost identical to police cars in Russia.

Moscow's man is again testing grey-zones in Norway's Svalbard regulations. This time by unveiling a vehicle that is almost identical to police cars in Russia. 'Aimed at provoking reactions,' says expert.

04/09/2025

Alarming discovery:

"What struck me most: the ease of access through what used to be a far more ice-covered region", expedition leader Jochen Knies says while sailing through the North Pole, "We had been sailing through open water at 6–8 knots, something unthinkable three decades ago."

"The Arctic is the fastest-changing region on the planet - what we call a "climate hotspot,” Knies added.

See the report straight from the North Pole!

When a Norwegian vessel reached the North Pole this week, the scientific team made an alarming discovery.

03/09/2025

Russia has informed civilian aviation that the warning launched for the eastern Barents Sea on August 28 now will last until September 6, most likely to support another test of the nuclear-powered cruise missile at Novaya Zemlya.

Russia continues to keep the airspace along the west-coast of Novaya Zemlya closed and the U.S. Air Force 'nuke sniffer' is back again over the Barents Sea.

03/09/2025

The 131-meter-long "Maia-1" is under international sanctions for its transportation of weapons used in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine

The 131-meter-long Maia-1 is under international sanctions for its transportation of weapons used in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

03/09/2025

Highly unusual: A faraway remotely operated U.S. Air Force Global Hawk flew over Norway's Finnmark region Wednesday afternoon.

The remotely operated surveillance drone entered Norwegian airspace from Finnish Lapland and continued out over the Barents Sea to the west of North Cape.

02/09/2025

"This is not about memory, but about justifying terror," says Agnessa Haikara, a former member of the Communist Party in Murmansk.

'This is not about memory, but about justifying terror,' says Agnessa Haikara, a former member of the Communist Party in Murmansk.

02/09/2025

Two representatives of ultra-conservative TV channel Spas brought a flag depicting emperor Nicholas II from the occupied Ukrainian city of Vuhledar to the Arctic archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya

Two representatives of ultra-conservative TV channel Spas brought a flag depicting emperor Nicholas II from the occupied Ukrainian city of Vuhledar to the archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya.

31/08/2025

The purchase of British Type-26 frigates will be the largest Norwegian defence capability investment to date. Delivery will start in 2030, the Government announced on Sunday.

31/08/2025

Digital services used by Russians are becoming unavailable because of shutdowns of the mobile internet. "The main signal from the Kremlin is that they don't care about people at all," says journalist Georgii Chentemirov in this latest Barents Observer podcast

Many digital services used by Russians are becoming unavailable because of shutdowns of the mobile internet. 'The main signal from the Kremlin is that they don't care about people at all,' says journalist Georgii Chentemirov in this podcast.

29/08/2025

The journalist at the Barents Observer, who from before is on the Kremlin's 'terrorist list,' was on Friday declared so-called 'foreign agent.'

The journalist, who from before is on the Kremlin's 'terrorist list,' was on Friday declared so-called 'foreign agent.'

28/08/2025

"The Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in the summer by 2050,” the Norwegian government says.

"The Arctic is warming at roughly four times the rate of the rest of the globe," marine scientist Philipp Assmy of the Norwegian Polar Institute told the Barents Observer.

As the sea ice slowly disappears, the Norwegian government is allocating an additional one billion kroner (about €85 million) to study the impacts of climate changes in the Arctic Ocean.