Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the ministry will focus on the development of military infrastructure in the Arctic and the Kuril Islands in 2016-2020, Sputnik International reports.

"A planned rearmament of military units in the Kuril Islands is taking place. During the current year, Bastion and Bal coastal defense missile systems and Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles will be stationed here," Shoigu said Friday, March 25, at a ministry board meeting.

The Russian Navy may create a base for ships in the Kuril Islands, according to the minister.