"The Russian Navy has restored the presence of combat ships of the Northern Fleet in the Arctic region, including in the region of Spitsbergen," the Navy said in a statement.

Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo was unable to say the last time combat ships were in the region, but described the latest patrols as part of a "significant expansion of the activities of the Northern Fleet."

The anti-submarine ship Severomorsk is already in the area and will be joined by rocket cruiser Marshal Ustinov later this week, the statement said.

The movements of the ships will remain "in strict accordance with international law," the statement said.

Russia last year caused a storm of protest by planting a Russian flag on the ocean floor beneath the North Pole in a bid to boost its claim to the region's mineral reserves.

Fellow Arctic power Canada sent a military mission into the Arctic Ocean days later.

Interest in the economic exploitation of the Arctic has increased significantly in recent years as melting ice floes have eased access to the region's rich oil and gas reserves.

Last year the Russian Navy announced an increase of its presence in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in order to protect shipping routes.

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