The Arctic is one of the coldest and least populated regions on Earth, much of it covered by ice. But in recent years it has become one of the most important sites of geopolitical tensions — and a key focus of American policy.

Despite its inhospitability, land north of the Arctic Circle has long been inhabited by Indigenous people like the Inuit, Sami and Yukaghir and today includes territories belonging to eight countries: Canada, Russia, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the United States.

In 1996, these countries formed the Arctic Council — a forum that includes all eight countries as member states along with representatives from Indigenous groups. But while the Arctic was once envisioned as a neutral zone where research and conservation could promote deeper international cooperation, multiple developments since then have turned it into a site of competition.

The number one issue facing the Arctic is climate change. Since the 1990s, Arctic sea ice has declined by 7.6 trillion metric tons, with the rate of loss increasing by 57%. Besides contributing to rising sea levels, the loss of ice also reduces global solar reflection. This creates a feedback loop as the darker ocean water absorbs more heat, causing more ice to melt, adversely affecting global weather patterns.

The melting of Arctic ice also directly affects local wildlife, with polar bear populations projected to decline by two-thirds in the next quarter-century as they lose their hunting grounds.

But where some see environmental disaster, others see opportunity. The melting ice is making Arctic trade routes more navigable, providing shorter distances for transoceanic shipping than current lanes using the Suez and Panama canals. Furthermore, increased navigability is expanding potential for exploration and extraction of natural resources.

The Arctic region is estimated to hold over 20% of the world’s remaining fossil fuel reserves, with over 400 oil and gas fields already discovered. Both the seabed and offshore areas also hold vast quantities of minerals ranging from staple commodities like iron, gold, nickel and zinc to rare earth metals such as neodymium and dysprosium, which are used in electronics and battery technology. Even traditional subsistence activity may be greatly altered and expanded as global warming leads fish stocks to migrate north and more coastal land becomes available for agriculture.

Yet economic opportunities in the Arctic are emerging at a time of increased geopolitical tensions, as countries scramble to secure resources, stake territorial claims and develop facilities.

With 53% of the Arctic coastline under its control, Russia has the largest presence in the region in terms of civilian ports like Murmansk and Arkhangelsk as well as multiple airfields and military bases along its northern border. More recently, Russia has moved to expand its claims to the Arctic seabed at the same time that its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led other members of the Arctic Council to suspend cooperation with Moscow.

While land jurisdiction in the Arctic is largely settled aside from a few small disputes, maritime claims are much more complex. Control over Arctic waters is generally governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which defines multiple types of territorial waters where a nation may have the right to restrict the activity of foreign vessels. These range from internal waters that are considered part of a nation’s sovereign territory to exclusive economic zones where foreign ships may travel freely but cannot extract resources.

Although the United States played a formative role in negotiating the treaty and abides by most of its provisions, it remains one of the few countries that has not formally acceded to it because of concerns about limitations it places on seabed mining.

Even among UNCLOS signatories, however, boundary definitions can vary. While Canada considers parts of the Northwest Passage to lie within its territorial waters, for example, most other nations including the United States consider it to be an international strait where foreign ships may transit.

Similarly, Russia has claimed parts of the Northeast Passage along its northern coastline as internal waters, moving to restrict the right of passage in areas where it was previously allowed.

Given these disputes, the Transpolar Sea Route through the center of the Arctic Ocean, which lies fully in international waters, will become more attractive as polar ice continues to thaw.

The increasing importance of the Arctic has attracted the attention of other powers without Arctic territory. Several of these states have been admitted as observers in the Arctic Council, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea. China, which is also an observer, has unilaterally declared itself as a “near-Arctic state” and has expanded both research and commercial activity in the region by partnering with Russia as well as investing in infrastructure in Norway, Iceland and Greenland.

China’s increased presence in the Arctic alongside Russia’s more aggressive posture have been among the reasons cited for U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence on annexing or buying Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. While Greenland already contains a U.S. military base on its northwest coast, the discussion is likely to result in a further militarization of the territory, even under Denmark.

Satellites are also expected to play a major role in exerting control within the Arctic, given the importance of observation and monitoring in remote areas with poor communications infrastructure.

What was once considered a frozen frontier with little to offer is quickly becoming one of the most contested regions on Earth. And as the planet heats up, competition in the Arctic will as well.
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INDJIJA, Serbia — Hundreds of striking students marched through the Serbian countryside Friday as they took their anti-graft protest toward the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to blockade three bridges over the River Danube this weekend. 

The bridge blockade planned for Saturday will mark three months since a huge concrete construction at the railway station collapsed in Novi said on Nov. 1, leaving 15 people dead. 

What started two months ago as a protest against suspected corruption in construction contracts has developed into the most serious challenge in years to the country’s powerful populist leader, President Aleksandar Vucic. 

Meanwhile in Belgrade, a driver rammed a car into a silent protest Friday, injuring two women who work as doctors at a nearby psychiatric institution. Media reports say both hit the pavement with their heads and are being examined. 

The incident, the third of its kind in weeks, happened in downtown Belgrade during 15 minutes of silence observed daily throughout Serbia at around noon when the canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad. 

Pro-government thugs have repeatedly attacked the protesters, many of them students, twice ramming cars into demonstrations. Two people were seriously injured in the previous attacks. 

Along the way to Novi Sad on Friday, the students were greeted by cheering citizens who honked their car horns or came out of their homes to offer food and drinks. 

When they reached the town of Indjija on Thursday, roughly halfway along their 80-kilometer route, the students were welcomed with fireworks and cheers from residents. 

Although most of them spent the night out in the open in a soccer field, the freezing temperatures did not dampen their desire for major changes in the corruption-ridden Balkan state. 

Nevena Vecerinac, a student, said she hoped the protesters’ demands that include the punishment of all those responsible for the rail station tragedy will be fulfilled. 

“We will make it to Novi Sad,” she said. “Yesterday’s walk was easy. It’s cold now, but we can make it. We all have the same goal.” 

“We need support from all people. With this energy and mood, I hope we can do it, otherwise there will be no brighter future,” said Luka Arsenovic, another student marcher. 

Many in Serbia believe that the collapse of the overhang at the train station was essentially caused by government corruption in a large infrastructure project with Chinese state companies. Critics believe graft led to a sloppy job during the reconstruction of the Novi Sad train station, poor oversight and disrespect of existing safety regulations. 

Monthslong demonstrations have already forced the resignation of Serbia’s prime minister Milos Vucevic this week, along with various concessions from authorities which were ignored by the protesters who say that is not enough. 

Vucic and other officials have shifted from accusing the students of working with foreign powers to oust him, to offering concessions or issuing veiled threats. 

The strength and determination of the protesters have caught many by surprise in a country where hundreds of thousands of young people have emigrated, looking for opportunities elsewhere. 
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ATHENS — Three Greek opposition parties vowed Friday to challenge the country’s center-right government with a censure motion over its handling of a deadly rail disaster nearly two years ago.

The pledge was prompted by mounting public anger over delays in the inquiry and allegations of a cover-up that the government strongly denies.

Fifty-seven people were killed — including college students returning from a holiday — when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train on Feb. 28, 2023, near Tempe in northern Greece.

On Sunday, relatives of those killed led protests in dozens of cities, directed at the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Apart from rallies held in Athens, Thessaloniki and other Greek cities, protests were also organized by Greek communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels and other European cities.

Sokratis Famellos, leader of the left-wing Syriza party, said outside parliament that he sided with two other opposition parties, Pasok and the New Left, to seek a no-confidence vote.

“A joint initiative by progressive parties for a censure motion is necessary today. The evidence is there, and society demands accountability,” Famellos said Friday.

Although a censure motion is unlikely to pose a direct threat to the government, it could help forge bonds in Greece’s fractured opposition. Lawmakers from the three parties confirmed they were involved in discussions to agree on the timing of the motion.

Investigations have faced delays, with critics accusing authorities of obstructing justice. While some railway officials have been charged, no senior political figures have been held accountable, further intensifying public scrutiny.

Speaking to ministers at a Cabinet meeting, Mitsotakis vowed to overcome the “turbulence” facing the government.

“This difficult week comes to a close under the shadow of the Tempe tragedy,” he said in a televised address. “We are now entering the final stage of investigations into this deeply painful national trauma.”

The controversy overshadowed an ongoing parliamentary process to elect a new president. A government-backed candidate, Constantine Tassoulas, failed to win the cross-party support needed to secure the presidency in a second round of voting in parliament Friday.

The 65-year-old former speaker of the assembly is expected to win in later rounds scheduled next month when the threshold is lowered.
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KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia launched a barrage of drones on Ukraine in an overnight attack on Friday, injuring four people and damaging a hospital and a grain warehouse in the southern Odesa region, officials said.

Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 59 of 102 Russian drones, the air force said. It said that 37 drones were “lost,” referring to the use of electronic warfare to redirect them.

Russian drones caused damage in the northeastern Sumy region, the Odesa region in the south and the central Cherkasy Region.

Oleh Kiper, the Odesa regional governor, said that four civilians, including a doctor, were injured in drone attacks targeting the city of Chornomorsk.

The strikes also partially disrupted electricity supplies in the city and damaged the city’s hospital, an administrative building, a grain warehouse, a residential house, and several trucks, he said on the Telegram app.

Regional officials in the central Cherkasy region said that drone debris damaged an apartment building in the region.

Meanwhile, an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Volgograd region caught fire after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack, but the blaze has now been put out, the regional governor said on Friday.

Andrei Bocharov, the governor, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that Russian air defenses had repelled an attack on his region by eight drones.

“As a result of falling debris from one of the drones, a fire broke out on the territory of an oil refinery, which was promptly extinguished. One injured refinery worker was hospitalized,” he said.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said on Telegram that the Volgograd oil refinery, which he described as one of Russia’s largest, had been struck.

SHOT, a Russian news outlet with contacts in the security services, said four Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over a second refinery in Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow.

Ukraine has carried out frequent air attacks on Russian refineries, oil depots and industrial sites to cripple key infrastructure underpinning Russia’s war effort.

This week it claimed to have struck and set on fire a Lukoil refinery, Russia’s fourth largest, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, east of Moscow.

Sources at Lukoil denied that the NORSI refinery was hit, and said production was not affected. Petrochemical company Sibur said there had been a drone strike and fire at its nearby plant.

Russia is currently feeding more crude oil through its refineries in the hope of boosting fuel exports after new U.S. sanctions on Russian tankers and traders made exports of unprocessed crude more difficult, sources told Reuters this week.

A Ukrainian drone attack last week forced a refinery in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, to suspend operations. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday that 49 Ukrainian drones had been downed over the country overnight, including 25 in the southern Rostov region and eight in the Volgograd region.

Drones had also been detected and destroyed in the Kursk, Yaroslavl, Belgorod, Voronezh, and Krasnodar regions, it said. 
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white house — Arms control advocates are hoping U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh words of support for denuclearization will lead to talks with Russia and China on arms reduction.

U.S. negotiations with the Russians and Chinese on denuclearization and eventual agreements are “very possible,” according to Trump, who addressed the World Economic Forum a week ago in Davos, Switzerland.

“Tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear [weapons], and the destructive capability is something that we don’t even want to talk about because you don’t want to hear,” he said. “It’s too depressing.”

Trump noted that in his first term, he discussed the topic with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We were talking about denuclearization of our two countries, and China would have come along,” according to Trump. “President Putin really liked the idea of cutting back on nuclear [armaments], and I think the rest of the world — we would have gotten them to follow.”

Just months before leaving office, former U.S. President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Peru where both agreed that decisions regarding the use of nuclear weapons should remain under human control. That consensus was seen as a positive step after the Chinese, four months previously, suspended nuclear arms control talks with Washington to protest American arms sales to Taiwan.

The horror of nuclear attacks first became evident to many in the world through magazines in the West, which printed photographs of the radiation-burned survivors of the U.S. atomic attack on two Japanese cities in 1945 to end World War II. In subsequent years during the Cold War, U.S. government films captured the destructive force of test detonations in the Nevada desert, eventually prompting public demonstrations to “ban the bomb” and diplomacy to reduce or eliminate all nuclear weapons.

A major breakthrough occurred in 1987 with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) between the United States and the Soviet Union. It entered into full force the following year. By 1991, nearly 2,700 missiles had been dismantled. That was the first time the two nuclear superpowers achieved a reduction of such weapons rather than just limiting their growth.

Over the years, the Americans and the Russians lost their monopoly on nuclear weapons. Nine countries presently have nuclear arsenals, although Israel has never acknowledged possession of such weaponry.

The United States and Russia each have more than 5,000 nuclear warheads — 90% of the world’s total. The combined global force of all countries’ nuclear weapons could destroy the world many times over, according to arms control advocates.

The current New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, set limits on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems, while including on-site inspection and exchanges of data for verification.

The treaty expires in early February 2026, which adds urgency to Trump’s call for talks with Russia and China, according to Xiaodon Liang, senior analyst for nuclear weapons policy and disarmament at the Arms Control Association.

“And because of that, this issue has to be at the top of the agenda, and having a signal that the president is concerned about this issue and thinking about it is very positive,” Liang told VOA.

Since a formal, comprehensive agreement could take years to negotiate — possibly spanning beyond the four years of the second Trump presidency — Liang suggests the U.S. president consider an “executive agreement” with Putin, an informal consensus or a series of unilateral steps to continue adhering to the numbers in New START for an indefinite period.

“That would be a stabilizing factor in this important bilateral relationship,” Liang added.

There are analysts who advocate a more aggressive tactic.

Trump should consider ordering a resumption of nuclear testing to demonstrate to America’s adversaries that the U.S. arsenal of weapons of mass destruction remains viable and as an act of resolve, writes Robert Peters, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank seen as having a dominant influence on Trump administration policies.

Peters also suggests that Trump might want to withdraw from the 1963 Test Ban Treaty made with Moscow and “conduct an above-ground test either at the Nevada National Security Site or in the Pacific Ocean over open water, where nuclear fallout can be minimized” to stave escalatory moves by an adversary to the United States.

The Heritage Foundation did not respond to multiple requests from VOA to interview Peters.

Moscow is not known to have conducted any sort of test causing a nuclear chain reaction, known as criticality, since 1990. Two years later, the United States announced it would no longer test nuclear weapons, although subcritical simulations continue. The other nuclear nations have followed suit except North Korea, which last triggered a nuclear test explosion in 2017.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Tuesday moved up the hands of its “Doomsday Clock” by one second to 89 seconds to midnight, meant to signify the peril from weapons of mass destruction and other existential threats.

“We set the clock closer to midnight because we do not see positive progress on the global challenges we face, including nuclear risk, climate change, biological threats and advances in disruptive technology,” said Daniel Holz, a physics professor at the University of Chicago, just after the hands of this year’s clock were unveiled at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

While the Doomsday Clock is merely symbolic, Liang at the Arms Control Association sees it as an annual important ritual highlighting the risks to Americans and everyone else posed by the world’s nuclear arsenals.

“It is a good tool for bringing this to more people’s attention, and you can’t blame Americans for having so many other issues on their plate. And having this [clock] as a reminder, I think, is an effective communications tool,” Liang said.

At the Doomsday Clock ceremony, VOA asked former Colombian President and Nobel laureate Juan Manuel Santos what he viewed as the biggest hurdle to Trump, Putin and Xi making progress on denuclearization.

“The biggest challenge, in my view, is for them to understand that they should sit down and talk about how the three of them can take decisions to save their own countries and the whole world,” he said.

Liang compared the situation to U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s call to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, which led Washington and Moscow to pull back from the brink of nuclear war.

That resolution turned the hands of the Doomsday Clock the following year back to 12 minutes to midnight in recognition of the Americans, Soviets and British banning nuclear testing in the atmosphere, in space and under water.

It has been several years since the United States engaged in any denuclearization negotiations. Those working-level talks in 2019 in Sweden between the first Trump administration and North Korean officials did not yield any agreement, with Pyongyang’s chief negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, telling reporters that the Americans had raised expectations with promises of flexibility but would not “give up their old viewpoint and attitude.”

The State Department spokesperson at the time, Morgan Ortagus, said in a statement the two countries could not be expected to “overcome a legacy of 70 years of war and hostility on the Korean Peninsula in the course of a single Saturday,” but such weighty issues “require a strong commitment by both countries. The United States has that commitment.”
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Arms control advocates are hoping U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh words of support for denuclearization will lead to talks with Russia and China about nuclear arms reduction. VOA’s chief national correspondent, Steve Herman, reports from the White House in Washington.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned an early Thursday morning Russian drone strike that killed at least nine people as a “terrible tragedy.”

The drone, which struck an apartment building in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, also injured 13 people, according to regional authorities.

“This is a terrible tragedy, a terrible Russian crime. It is very important that the world does not stop putting pressure on Russia for this terror,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Police said the search-and-rescue operation had concluded after 19 hours.

Three elderly couples were among those killed, and an 8-year-old child was among those wounded. The child’s mother was killed in the attack.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin claims to be ready for negotiations, but this is what he actually does,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media.

Russia launched 81 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian military said Thursday. The attacks damaged businesses and homes around the country, according to the military.

In the southern region of Odesa, the attack damaged a grain warehouse and a hospital, according to the governor.

Meanwhile, James Anderson, a British man who was captured while fighting on the Ukrainian side in Russia’s Kursk region, will face terrorism and mercenary charges, Russian state investigators said Thursday.

Russia announced in November that it had captured Anderson.

Also, the review and 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign aid means Ukrainian aid groups that rely on U.S. funding are being forced to cut services.

Zelenskyy said U.S. military assistance to Ukraine was not affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid, but the Ukrainian president still expressed concern about the funding pause.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Azerbaijan and Turkey are stepping up efforts to secure a land corridor between their countries through Armenia. Until now, Iran, a key ally of Armenia, has backed Yerevan’s opposition to what is known as the Zangezur corridor. With Iran weakened in the region, Ankara and Baku see an opportunity to secure a key strategic goal. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Brussels, Belgium — The EU promised Thursday an “action plan” to help the bloc’s beleaguered auto sector, as it held talks with industry leaders who have sounded the alarm over emissions fines and Chinese competition. 

The European Union is under pressure to help a sector that employs 13 million people and accounts for about seven percent of the bloc’s GDP, as it seeks to revamp the continent’s lagging competitiveness. 

“The European automotive industry is at a pivotal moment, and we acknowledge the challenges it faces. That is why we are acting swiftly to address them,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said, promising an “action plan” by early March.  

Chaired by the European Commission president, the so-called “strategic dialogue” brought together carmakers, suppliers, civil society groups and trade unions. 

Representatives of 22 industry “players” including Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Renault, were in attendance, the commission said. 

The get-together comes as the commission embarks on a pro-business shift, with firms complaining its focus on climate and business ethics has resulted in excessive regulations. 

On Wednesday, it unveiled a blueprint to revamp the bloc’s economic model, amid worries that low productivity, high energy prices, weak investments and other ills are leaving the EU behind the United States and China. 

The car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering switch to electric vehicles (EV) and increased competition from China. 

Announcements of possible job cuts have multiplied. Volkswagen plans to axe 35,000 positions across its German locations by 2030. 

Emissions fines 

Carmakers have been calling for “flexibility” on the steep emission fines they could face in 2025 — something the bloc’s new growth blueprint said should be in the cards. 

“Penalizing immediately the industry, financially, is not a good idea, because the industry is in trouble and… has to restructure itself, which will cost a lot of money,” Patrick Koller, CEO of French parts producer Forvia, said ahead of the meeting. 

“When you look back, we have heavy industries which disappeared from Europe completely, because of lack of competitiveness.”  

To combat climate change, the EU introduced a set of emission-reduction targets that should lead to the sale of fossil-fuel-burning cars, being phased out by 2035. 

About 16 percent of the planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) gas released into the atmosphere in Europe comes from cars’ exhaust pipes, the EU says. 

As of this year, carmakers have to lower the average CO2 emitted by all newly sold vehicles by 15 percent from 2021 levels, or pay a penalty — with tougher cuts further down the road, according to advocacy group Transport & Environment. 

The idea is to incentivize firms to increase the share of EVs, hybrids and small vehicles they sell compared to, for instance, diesel-guzzling SUVs.  

But some manufacturers complain that is proving harder than expected as consumers have yet to warm to EVs, which have higher upfront costs and lack an established used-vehicle market. 

“We want to stick to the objective… but we can smoothen the way,” von der Leyen said on Wednesday.  

Critics say lifting the fines would unfairly penalize producers who have invested to comply and remove a key incentive to speed up electric transitions.  

Sales and tariffs

EV sales slid 1.3 percent in Europe last year, accounting for 13.6 percent of all sales, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), an industry group. 

A senior EU official said incentives for businesses to buy electric are an option.  

“Company fleets” account for more than half of new cars purchased in Europe, the official said.  

The 27-nation bloc could also seek to improve a patchy charging network, modernize grids to allow for faster charging, bring down energy costs, cut regulations and loosen China’s grip on battery production, analysts say. 

Meanwhile, the market share of Chinese electric cars has ballooned in the EU, to reach 14 percent in the second quarter of 2024.  

Brussels has imposed extra import tariffs on China-made electric vehicles of up to 35.3 percent after concluding Beijing’s state support was unfairly undercutting European automakers. 

The move was opposed by Germany and other EU members, and it is the object of a lawsuit by BMW, Tesla and several Chinese automakers.             
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GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief appealed on Thursday for $500 million in funding for 2025 to support its work, such as investigating human rights abuses around the world from Syria to Sudan, warning that lives hang in the balance.

The U.N. human rights office has been grappling with chronic funding shortages that some worry could be exacerbated by cuts to U.S. foreign aid by President Donald Trump. The annual appeal is for funds beyond the allocated U.N. funds from member states’ fees, which make up just a fraction of the office’s needs.

“In 2025, we expect no let-up in major challenges to human rights,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told member states in a speech at the U.N. in Geneva.

“I am very concerned that if we do not reach our funding targets in 2025, we will leave people … to struggle and possibly fail, without adequate support,” he said.

He said any shortfall would mean more people remain in illegal detention; that governments are allowed to continue with discriminatory policies; violations may go undocumented; and human rights defenders could lose protection.

“In short, lives are at stake,” Turk said.

The human rights office gets about 5% of the regular U.N. budget, but the majority of its funding comes voluntarily in response to its annual appeal announced on Thursday.

Western states give the most, with the United States donating $35 million last year or about 15% of the total received in 2024, followed by the European Commission, U.N. data showed. Still, the office received only about half of the $500 million it sought last year.  
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