NUUK, Greenland — Denmark is leading a military exercise with hundreds of troops from several European NATO members in Greenland, a maneuver that coincides with months of tensions over the Trump administration’s desire for U.S. jurisdiction over the vast Arctic territory.

The US and Canada want more icebreakers to counter Russia and China in the Arctic, as the polar region — and competition for it — heats up.

The U.S. military said it and its allies are prepared to counter adversary attempts to expand influence or military capabilities in the Arctic region.

Sea ice floating atop the Arctic Ocean reached its minimum extent for 2025 on Sept. 10, covering 4.602 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles) concluding this year’s summer melt-out. That’s far from a record low and represents a recovery,

The Arctic is thawing, but navigating its icy waters is still a major concern. As nations from the US to China and Russia look to tap minerals, oil, and gas fields at the top of the world — and gain a military edge — they’re building out their fleets of icebreaker ships.

Crew members aboard the Admiral Golovko, a frigate with the Northern Fleet, fired a Zircon missile at a sea target in the Barents Sea, Russia's government said on Sunday. The Admiral Golovko has been known to carry Zircon missiles for several years.

For the past three months the chatter of the Arctic Tern colony has served as the soundtrack of the summer breeding season. The Arctic Tern is not the only bird that spends its breeding season in the Arctic.

A fourth tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project discharged its cargo at a Chinese port on September 14, four days after a third LNG vessel departed, LSEG ship-tracking data showed.