The Russian invasion of Ukraine has significantly impacted the ability to accurately describe conditions across the Arctic, leading to a biased view of Arctic change. This geopolitical conflict has hindered transnational collaboration on global issues, particularly in the Arctic region. The INTERACT network, the largest high-latitude research station network, is benchmarked to assess its representativeness of pan-Arctic conditions, both with and without Russian stations. Excluding Russian stations severely reduces the representativeness of the network, with biases comparable to those expected by the end of the century due to climate change. The loss of Russian stations, which represent about half of the Arctic's landmass, particularly affects Siberia and the Canadian high Arctic, leading to additional biases in key ecosystem variables such as vegetation biomass, net primary productivity, and heterotrophic respiration. These biases compromise the ability to track and project the development of the Arctic biome, hindering informed management and conservation efforts. The study emphasizes the need for improved research infrastructure and standardized monitoring programs to ensure a comprehensive and less biased understanding of Arctic change.The Russian invasion of Ukraine has significantly impacted the ability to accurately describe conditions across the Arctic, leading to a biased view of Arctic change. This geopolitical conflict has hindered transnational collaboration on global issues, particularly in the Arctic region. The INTERACT network, the largest high-latitude research station network, is benchmarked to assess its representativeness of pan-Arctic conditions, both with and without Russian stations. Excluding Russian stations severely reduces the representativeness of the network, with biases comparable to those expected by the end of the century due to climate change. The loss of Russian stations, which represent about half of the Arctic's landmass, particularly affects Siberia and the Canadian high Arctic, leading to additional biases in key ecosystem variables such as vegetation biomass, net primary productivity, and heterotrophic respiration. These biases compromise the ability to track and project the development of the Arctic biome, hindering informed management and conservation efforts. The study emphasizes the need for improved research infrastructure and standardized monitoring programs to ensure a comprehensive and less biased understanding of Arctic change.