Nuclear icebreaker Sibir. Source: Rosatom

Rosatom Chief Executive Alexey Likhachev said growing international interest in Greenland reflects broader economic and logistical considerations linked to the Arctic, as shipping activity in high latitudes increases amid changing ice conditions.

Likhachev said the debate around Greenland is focused on economic development and the island’s potential role in emerging transport routes rather than political symbolism. According to him, retreating ice is expected to support further growth in Arctic shipping and improve access to natural resources across the region.

Russia has developed extensive Arctic infrastructure and experience over several decades, adding that sustained operations in the High North depend primarily on technological capacity, says Likhachev.

“Maintaining reliable transport and industrial activity in Arctic conditions requires specific technological solutions,” he said.

According to the head of Rosatom, Russia is currently the only country operating nuclear-powered icebreakers, which are used to support navigation along the Northern Sea Route. He noted that eight nuclear icebreakers are currently in operation, with four additional vessels under construction, which has contributed to higher levels of shipping activity along the route.

It is said that work is underway, following instructions from the Russian President Vladimir Putin, to define the framework of a Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor. The project aims to link industrial regions in the Urals, Siberia and Russia’s Arctic zone with overseas markets via the Northern Sea Route.

Discussion of the corridor intensified after the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, which highlighted the Arctic as both a geopolitical and economic region, Likhachev said. He also referred to the comments made at the Eastern Economic Forum, where Putin said cooperation between Russia and the United States in the Arctic could be possible.

Likhachev said the development of interconnected Arctic transport routes could be considered over the medium term, depending on political and economic conditions.

Source: The Arctic Century (in Russian)