Moscow is betting big on its Arctic shipping route as the costs of invading Ukraine continue to mount

Russia is spending billions to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-era nuclear icebreakers in a bid to keep the Northern Sea Route clear.  (Wikimedia Commons: Pink floyd88 a, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Russia is operating more icebreakers along its Arctic coast now than at any time in the country's three-decade, post-Soviet history.

Some are among the world's most-powerful nuclear vessels, and the country has plans to build even more, having committed to investing at least $US35 billion ($51.6 billion) into its frozen northern waters until 2035.