The continued use of the Arctic Northern Sea Route (NSR) by Russian oil tankers sanctioned following its 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine underlines the ongoing critical importance of this route and the country’s Arctic hydrocarbon fields to President Vladimir Putin. That the final destination of one such high-profile vessel using the NSR path is China highlights one reason why Putin has pushed the expansion of the NSR and of Russia’s Artic operations so forcefully since the invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014, as…
