Construction of the Russian icebreaker Ural of the Project 22220 series will begin at Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg in the summer 2016, RIA Novosti reports citing the shipyard's press service. "In late July construction of the second nuclear icebreaker of the series, Ural, will begin," the message of the press service reads.

Ural will take the place of the Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker on the slipway. The latter's construction has been ongoing under Project 22220. Sibir was moved to the site in the shipyard earlier occupied by the lead ship Arktika of the Project 22220 series which was launched on June 16, 2016.

Nuclear-powered icebreakers of the Project 22220 series will lead ship convoys across the Arctic, breaking through ice approximately three meters thick. The new ships will escort vessels delivering raw hydrocarbons from deposits in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas and from the Kara Sea shelf to markets of the Asia-Pacific Region.

The full-scale design of the nuclear-powered icebreaker was made by the Iceberg Central Design Bureau in 2009. The dual-draft design enables the ship to operate in both Arctic waters and mouths of polar rivers.