Russia's embassy in the UK has accused London of attempting to militarize the Arctic by using the so-called 'Russian threat' as a pretext. According to Jin10, the accusation follows the UK Ministry of Defence's announcement in February that it plans to double its troop presence in Norway within three years. The ministry also stated that British forces would participate in NATO's planned 'Arctic Sentinel' mission. The Russian embassy emphasized that the UK is not even an Arctic nation. In a statement, the embassy questioned, 'Why would a non-Arctic country double its military presence in a region where it has no territory, and justify this decision as a defensive necessity?'