The Arctic has long been understood by international powers as a politically neutral part of the globe, and in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was even some cooperation between the United States and Russia on things like developing and regulating Arctic fisheries, as well as environmental preservation concerns.

But as we've long documented, a new 'race' for Artic dominance has heated up simultaneous to the Russia-Ukraine war, and accompanying US sanctions targeting Moscow, as well as Chinese entities willing help skirt Washington's punitive measures. Thrown into the mix, and likely to complicate ratcheting geopolitical tensions, is President Trump's declaration that he wants to buy Greenland.

Russia already has a distinct advantage which comes by way of geography, given it has always possessed the largest Arctic population of any of the nations bordering the Arctic Ocean.

NATO actually currently has five more military sites in total than Russia, but the Russian military's bases are far larger. The Simons Foundation Canada has documented in a fresh study that Russia has 32 "continuously attended military sites" in the Arctic region as of 2024.

Notably the outposts located Franz Josef Land, Kotelny Island, and Wrangel Island are able to house up to 150 ground troops each.

One of NATO's founding members, Norway, maintains 15 "continuously attended military sites". And per The Simons Foundation report, other NATO members have as follows:

United States: 10 Arctic sites

Canada: 8 Arctic sites

Denmark: 3 Arctic sites, which are in Greenland

Iceland: 1 Arctic site

Still, Russia's military has warned that "the Arctic is a region for potential future conflict" amid the global build-up there, according to Russia's Commander of the Northern Fleet, Aleksandr Moiseyev.