Moscow sees risks in NATO's Arctic activities

Unintentional clashes may arise with alliance's focus on region, envoy says

Russia said the involvement of NATO's non-Arctic states in the bloc's military activities in northern areas is worrying and increases the risk of unintentional clashes with the alliance's forces in the region.

"The internationalization of the alliance's military activities in high latitudes, in which non-Arctic NATO states are involved, can't fail to cause concern," said Foreign Ministry Ambassador at Large for the Arctic Cooperation Nikolay Korchunov.

Korchunov took aim at NATO's military exercises in northern Norway last month. They do "not contribute to ensuring security in the region".

"This raises the risk of unintentional incidents, which, in addition to security risks, can also cause serious damage to the fragile Arctic ecosystem," he said.

Earlier, The Times, citing sources, reported that Finland and Sweden could apply for membership of the trans-Atlantic security alliance as early as the summer.

The diplomat, who is also chairman of the Senior Officials Committee at the Arctic Council, warned that if Sweden and Finland joined NATO it would jeopardize security and trust in the Arctic region.

NATO expansion by countries that he described as "traditionally non-bloc" will not contribute to security and mutual trust in the Arctic, the strengthening of which Russia has consistently advocated, he said.

Referring to Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the defense ministry said on Sunday that Russian forces struck a munitions factory outside Kyiv, as Moscow intensifies its attacks on the Ukrainian capital.

"During the night, high-precision, air-launched missiles "destroyed the factory near the settlement of Brovary in the Kyiv region, the ministry said.

The mayor of Brovary, Igor Sapozhko, said "some infrastructure objects were hit" in the early hours of Sunday morning.

In recent days, Russia has carried out several attacks on munitions factories in and outside Kyiv after its Black Sea fleet's flagship Moskva sank following what Ukrainian authorities claimed was a missile attack on the ship.

Details disclosed

Photographs posted online early on Monday appeared to show the flagship on fire prior to its sinking. Two low-resolution images taken from different angles showed a large warship－apparently the Moskva－engulfed in smoke and keeling over in open waters.

Few details about what happened to the Moskva have been disclosed since it sank off the Ukrainian coast last week, and the images－if authentic－are the first photos or videos to emerge of the stricken vessel, a 186-meter missile cruiser that was leading Russia's naval effort in the special military operation.

While Russia claims its naval flagship sank during efforts to tow it to safety following a fire on board blamed on exploding ammunition, Ukrainian military officials have said it was struck by Neptune missiles fired from Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry posted footage on Saturday of what it said was a gathering of the surviving sailors from the Moskva. But there were only about 100 of the approximately 510-man crew visible in the video.

On another front in the conflict, Ukraine on Sunday vowed to fight to the end in Mariupol after a Russian ultimatum expired for remaining forces to surrender in the southern port city where Moscow is pushing for a major strategic victory.

"The city still has not fallen," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said hours after Moscow's deadline had passed for fighters holed up in a sprawling fortresslike steelworks to surrender.

Italy on Monday reopened its embassy in Kyiv, becoming the latest country to return diplomats to the Ukrainian capital after Russian troops withdrew from the region.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that Madrid would reopen its embassy in the "coming days" after staff members were relocated to Poland.

Agencies contributed to this story.