Russia is testing NATO’s resolve on Norway’s remote Svalbard archipelago, Western officials fear. Politico reports that concerns are growing in allied capitals that Moscow could use the Arctic islands to probe the alliance militarily while uncertainty hangs over the United States’ commitment to European defense.

According to Reuters, Russia’s GUGI undersea-warfare directorate deployed deep-sea submersibles near Svalbard this spring. Two Western officials said the deployment was meant to simulate disabling undersea cables in a conflict with NATO. Britain, Norway and the United States tracked and confronted the Russian vessels at sea. The Russians left without finishing the exercise, and no cables were damaged.

Latvia’s president said Putin’s tests of NATO are already underway, pointing to provocations and sabotage across the alliance. The statement reflects a view in several frontline states that Russia is applying pressure below the threshold of open conflict.

The stakes are high for Norway. Two fiber-optic cables of about 1,400 kilometers connect Svalbard to the Norwegian mainland, carrying satellite data from SvalSat, the world’s largest satellite ground station. A disruption there would ripple through global communications and Earth observation.