routes while also being capable

In Global Maritime Transport and the Arctic, Frédéric Lasserre argued that Russia’s dominance in polar icebreaker fleets—nearly 40 vessels, many nuclear-powered—provides not just access but influence. These ships clear pathways for energy exports and patrol trade routes while also being capable of reconnaissance and even armed engagement. While the United States operates only a few functional icebreakers, Russia’s fleet is diverse, modernizing, and increasingly militarized. This asymmetry has not gone unnoticed. NATO states have begun reassessing Arctic policy and defense investment. As Elana Wilson Rowe noted in Arctic Governance แทงบอล