About The Tools.

Ria published the piece titled States Want To Open Northern Front Against Russia. The author notes:

Глупо было бы надеяться, что, отыграв и бросив Украину, американские элиты перестанут давить на Россию. Объективно говоря, этот прессинг — их единственная надежда еще немного оттянуть свой конец. Следующая горячая точка, куда американцы планируют влезть с ногами, расположена в очень холодном регионе, — это Арктика, наше Приполярье.Уже строятся новые ледоколы, на регулярной основе проводятся в приполярной зоне учения НАТО, американские авианосцы бороздят северные моря. Норвегию, Швецию и Финляндию — северный фланг альянса — усиленно дрессируют для противостояния с Россией. "НАТО должна нарастить свое присутствие в Арктике", — говорит Йенс Столтенберг. Рупор американской военщины The Washington Post сообщил недавно, что Арктика становится зоной Большой игры — то есть стратегического противостояния англосаксов и России.

Translation: It would be foolish to hope that, having played out and abandoned Ukraine, the American elites will stop putting pressure on Russia. Objectively speaking, this pressure is their only hope to delay their end a little longer. The next hot spot where the Americans plan to climb in with their feet is located in a very cold region - this is the Arctic, our Subpolar region. New icebreakers are already being built, NATO exercises are regularly held in the subpolar zone, and American aircraft carriers ply the northern seas. Norway, Sweden and Finland - the northern flank of the alliance - are being heavily trained to confront Russia. "NATO should increase its presence in the Arctic," says Jens Stoltenberg. The mouthpiece of the American military The Washington Post recently reported that the Arctic is becoming a zone of the Great Game - that is, the strategic confrontation between the Anglo-Saxons and Russia.

 

The piece is good in general since gives the background of the issue of the Arctic Sea Route and a sort of panic which sets among arctic nations of Europe, to the point that they are trying to convince Washington (good luck with that, LOL) that things are not as bad:

Europe’s Northern Flank Is More Stable Than You Think. Are NATO, Russia, and China about to play a new Great Game in the Arctic? Don’t hold your breath.

Obviously, it is stable since Russia has no interest in dealing with Scandinavia, as Finns are now learning the hard way. But, Russia sure as hell readies to defend her Arctic possessions. For that she already has the tools, while NATO doesn't. The issue is not only ice-breakers, where Russia is in the league of her own, especially in nuclear ice-breakers.  

Here is Ivan Papanin of pr. 23550 fitting out:

Here is Purga for Russian Coast Guard getting ready:

And this is how they will look like upon completion with those lovely 3M54 and 3M14 Kalibrs installed on them. 

These are respectable ice-breakers of almost 7,000 ton standard displacement which make similar Norwegian patrol ice-breaker Svalbard with its 57-mm gun look like a leisure vessel.
 

And all this only as far as combat ice-breakers go, the rest: surface and submarine forces of the Northern Fleet and massive combat air, air defense and coastal component--it is not even fair to compare, including US and Canada's capabilities combined. Recall, that Russian Northern Fleet is not JUST the fleet anymore, it is now a whole military district onto itself. Once one considers the fact of the US Navy's SSNs having some serious issues with readiness, while Russia builds up her submarine component in Arctic, it becomes clear that any attempts to challenge Russia in Arctic are bound to run into the problems from the get go. There is simply not enough tools for that. Simple as that. After all, one doesn't go hunting for bear with a kitchen knife.