One county has a wealth of minerals essential to defense and the green economy. Mining would transform the community, yet many say they feel a patriotic obligation to dig.
Tank treads ripped up the toxic soil, bulldozers carved trenches and bunkers, and soldiers spent a month camped in — and dug into — a radioactive forest.
As climate change opens up the Arctic for transit and exploration, Russia has increasingly militarized the region. The U.S. is preparing a more aggressive presence of its own.
While Zaporizhzhia appeared secure on Friday, Russia’s seizure of the vast energy production site and potential targeting of another nuclear plant created risks of an accident.
The Biden administration said the measures would degrade the ability to wage war on Ukraine and would prevent Belarus from channeling forbidden goods to Russia.
Debate about the transition to renewable energy has taken a back seat to energy security as Russia threatens a major confrontation over Ukraine as oil prices climb.
Though the Russian military has little in common with liberal Western politicians or environmental groups like Greenpeace, it is taking ice melt in the Far North seriously.
