Russia has invested heavily over the last ten years in establishing a strong position in the Arctic. The United States has not kept pace.

With melting ice revealing new sea lanes and access to huge deposits of oil, gas, and important minerals, the Arctic has become a key area for global rivalry.

Satellite pictures capture this change as it happens, showing Russia's growing commercial and defense activities compared to America's efforts to restore its abilities after years of reduced focus.

The difference stands out clearly. From the LNG facilities on the Yamal Peninsula to updated Arctic airfields and the biggest collection of icebreakers globally, the images illustrate Russia's broad Arctic setup.

In contrast, the pictures display old American icebreakers, deserted military sites in Alaska, and a reduced defense presence in Greenland.

Business Insider reviewed satellite photos, heat images, vessel tracking, and defense charts to illustrate the changing power dynamics in the Arctic and the reasons the US is hurrying to close the distance.

Russia's Arctic shoreline extends roughly 15,000 miles, providing strong motivation to develop the area.

This enables the nation to construct harbors, energy facilities, and trade paths over a greater portion of the Arctic than any rival.

Russia holds nearly three dozen oil and gas fields in the Arctic, placing the region at the heart of its energy shipments.

As sea ice pulls back, those assets grow more accessible by vessel, and Russia has added ports and energy sites to handle increased activity.

The Yamal Peninsula stands out as a prime case of Russia's Arctic energy growth.

Satellite imagery and shipping records show the zone turning into an active export center along the Northern Sea Route. Each white line marks a tanker route near the peninsula in September 2025.

Traffic stems largely from gas facilities like this one opened by Russia and China in 2017.

Satellite views show the liquefied natural gas plant where carriers load cargo for delivery to markets in Europe and Asia.

More vessels than before travel the Northern Sea Route along Russia's Arctic coast linking Europe and Asia.

According to the Center for High North Logistics, ships completed over 100 full crossings in 2025 carrying more than 3 million tonnes of cargo, the highest figure recorded and far above volumes on North America's Northwest Passage.

Russia's icebreaker fleet aids this effort by opening routes through frozen seas for tankers and LNG carriers.

Russia operates the world's largest icebreaker fleet with 42 vessels, including 13 heavy units able to handle thick Arctic ice year-round. The US has only one heavy icebreaker, the Coast Guard's Polar Star. Built in the 1970s, it received a $75 million refit in 2025 while awaiting a delayed replacement.

Russia keeps growing its fleet.

Since 2018 it has added eight new heavy icebreakers, four of them nuclear-powered. A 2022 satellite image shows two under construction at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. These belong to the Arktika class and rank as the most powerful icebreakers worldwide.

Russia announced a new ship class meant to be twice as strong as its current top icebreakers.

The first vessel in the Leader class is expected to cost $2.7 billion. Business Insider obtained a 2026 satellite image from Vantor showing construction progress. Originally due by 2027, delivery is now projected for 2030 or later due to supply issues tied to the Ukraine conflict.

Russia's military expansion shows clearly from space.

Since the 2010s the country has grown military sites across the Arctic, especially on the Kola Peninsula with submarine bases, ports, and airfields built to extend influence over Europe and the Arctic. Russia's Ushakovskoye site on Wrangel Island lies just 300 miles from the Alaskan coast.

This satellite image shows a Russian submarine on the Kola Peninsula in 2022.

Analysts identify it as a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at a naval base near Murmansk, Russia's largest Arctic military center.

Satellite imagery reveals upgrades to an air base near the submarine facility.

Since 2012 the base has seen major improvements including new taxiways and larger parking areas. Analysts spotted Tu-142 patrol aircraft and Sukhoi fighters on the runway.

As Russia grows its Arctic footprint, the US story centers on decline.

Despite holding Arctic land in Alaska, the US has never run a military base on its own soil inside the Arctic Circle.

During World War II the US constructed about 300 military sites across Alaska, including bases in the Aleutian Islands chain in southwestern Alaska.

Many sites have since been left unused, with crumbling runways, overgrown structures, and vacant fields. Shown here is a former US Navy base on Adak Island in the Aleutians that closed in 1997. Some officials have suggested reopening it to address rising Russian and Chinese activity in the North Pacific and Bering Sea.

Today the sole permanent US military presence in the Aleutian Islands consists of Eareckson Air Station and a Coast Guard unit with one cutter at a time.

Eareckson Air Station focuses on operating long-range radar to track incoming threats including ballistic missiles. Kenneth Rosen, author of Polar War, told Business Insider it remains puzzling why the US has overlooked its Arctic territory in Alaska. To assert control over a region that belongs to the country, a presence is required, and one security cutter in the Bering Sea for all of Alaska falls short.

The pattern continues beyond Alaska. Another pillar of America's World War II and Cold War footprint has steadily diminished: Greenland.

At one point in World War II the US maintained around 20 military sites across Greenland, including four airfields used as refueling stops for flights to Europe. Only one permanent US military installation remains today.

Bluie East Two, a former US air base in eastern Greenland, highlights America's reduced Arctic presence.

The rust-colored marks in this satellite image represent thousands of fuel barrels left after the base closed in the 1950s.

Satellite imagery of another airfield, Bluie West Four, shows how little is left of the old US airstrip.

Decades after abandonment, almost no trace of the runway remains. Investigators noted the site still carries a fuel smell.