Location of China’s five Antarctic Research Stations and a proposed sixth station. The U.S. operates three Antarctic Research Stations. (Image: ABC News: Maggie Khameneh)

Sixty Degrees North has an interesting report on what is happening with regard to Chinese and Russian icebreakers.

China’s actions in the Arctic have been getting a lot of Press, but their actions in Antarctic deserve more attention.

The Russian section notes for the first time, Russia had eight nuclear powered icebreakers underway. Sanctions and the War in Ukraine have made exports from the Russian Arctic essential. The coverage reveals why Russia has so many icebreakers, that the Russian icebreaker fleet is getting old, and sanctions are making building replacements difficult.