Norway is warning that Russia has positioned a large nuclear arsenal in the Arctic Circle, now oriented toward the U.S. and NATO allies, underscoring rapidly escalating strategic tensions that Western officials say are expanding beyond Ukraine into the High North, Newsweek reported.

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said Russia has intensified the deployment of nuclear weapons and advanced submarine platforms on its Arctic Kola Peninsula, an area long recognized as the core of Moscow's strategic deterrence and second-strike capability.

In an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph published Friday, Sandvik described the buildup as a direct threat beyond regional borders.

"Russia is building up on the Kola Peninsula ... where one of the largest arsenals of nuclear warheads in the world is located. [The nuclear weapons] are not only pointed towards Norway, but towards the U.K. and over the pole towards Canada and the U.S."

He said Norway has observed tests of nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, nuclear-powered torpedoes, and upgraded ballistic submarine units.

"We are the eyes and ears of NATO in this area," he added, stressing that the buildup is ongoing even as Russia fails to achieve battlefield breakthroughs in Ukraine.

Sandvik pointed to two strategic maritime gaps that NATO analysts have monitored since the Cold War: the Bear Gap between Norway and the Svalbard archipelago, and the GIUK Gap among Greenland, Iceland, and the U.K.

Both gaps serve as submarine transit routes into the North Atlantic.

"Putin needs to establish what is called the Bastion defense. He needs to control the Bear Gap to make sure that he can use his submarines and the Northern Fleet. And he wants to deny [NATO] allies access to the GIUK Gap," Sandvik said.

Moscow's Northern Fleet, founded in 1733 and housing strategic nuclear submarines, has remained intact despite heavy Russian losses in Ukraine, according to Sandvik.

"Even though Putin is losing heavily in Ukraine,  he has lost 1 million soldiers, [but] the Northern Fleet is intact. And they are developing it. They have a new frigate and a new multirole submarine, developed just in the last two years. The most threatening thing about Russia right now is its submarines."

The warning comes amid intensified escalation between Washington and Moscow.

President Donald Trump this week announced a sanctions package targeting Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil and publicly rejected what he called a "wasted meeting" with Vladimir Putin in Budapest after Russia refused to commit to a ceasefire.

Strategic analysts have long treated the Arctic as one of the most sensitive nuclear flashpoints.

Russia has shown no indication it intends to scale back operations, Western officials say, especially if Ukraine receives longer-range U.S. or NATO missile systems such as Tomahawks.

Norway's warning is the latest to signal that the Arctic theater — not just Eastern Europe — may define the next stage of global confrontation.

• Russia Has Tested a New Nuclear-capable Missile, Putin and Top General Say
• Ireland's President Elect Is a Left-wing, Anti-establishment Figure Who Is Outspoken on Gaza