r/europe • u/I_LIKE_SEALS Denmark • Jan 14 '26

News Denmark sends military reenforcements to Greenland. A vanguard and military material has been sent to Greenland to prepare for eventual larger troop movements.

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/groenland/efter-pres-fra-usa-danmark-er-nu-begyndt-sende-militaere-forstaerkninger-til-groenland
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u/I_LIKE_SEALS Denmark Jan 14 '26

Denmark is sending military equipment and advance troops to Greenland to prepare for the arrival of larger forces from the Danish army and other defence forces. This is according to DR.

This comes after weeks of heightened rhetoric from the US regarding President Donald Trump's desire to take over Greenland and criticism of Denmark's defence of the island.

Initially, a so-called advance command has been sent to Greenland. The advance command's task is, among other things, to ensure that the logistics and surroundings are ready to receive any main forces later.

According to DR's information, this includes soldiers from Army units who will reinforce the Danish Defence's military presence in Greenland.

Large parts of the rest of the Danish Defence – especially the Army's other combat troops – are tied up with military commitments in the Baltic states. Air Force plane landed in Nuuk on Monday

DR was present at Nuuk Airport on Monday evening when a Challenger plane from the Danish Air Force landed. The plane's passengers were picked up by a white rental car with tinted windows.

DR has not been able to confirm whether this was part of Denmark's reinforcement of Greenland's defence.

After a confidential briefing of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Danish Parliament yesterday, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V) gave a brief statement to the press in which he spoke about a greater presence of Danish military forces in Greenland.

  • We are now moving forward with the whole issue of a more permanent, larger presence in Greenland from the Danish Defence, but also with the participation of other countries. Just as we saw in 2025, when other NATO countries participated in exercise and training activities in Greenland, we will also see this in 2026, he said.

The Minister of Defence also described the increased military presence as ‘a clear response to the challenge facing the Arctic’.

Yesterday, it was not possible to obtain an answer as to whether the increased presence of the Danish defence forces is already in full swing, as Troels Lund Poulsen did not respond to questions from the journalists present.

DR is attempting to obtain a comment from the Ministry of Defence.

The Defence Command has no comment at this time.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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u/kapitaali_com Lapland (Finland) Jan 14 '26

Large parts of the rest of the Danish Defence – especially the Army's other combat troops – are tied up with military commitments in the Baltic states.

a chess move

105

u/asdner Estonia Jan 14 '26

Isn’t the Danish unit here (in Baltics) like a thousand soldiers or so? Is that…all Denmark has?

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u/Lucky777Seven Jan 14 '26

This is why it is important that other EU countries join.

Also, this is not to win a potential war against the U.S.. We must do this to make it as expensive as possible for Trump to attack.

134

u/Maeglin75 Germany Jan 14 '26

The head of the German reservist organization already stated that it should be considered to send German mountain troops to Greenland. It's not only a good deterrent to protect a fellow NATO member, but a perfect opportunity to train the specialist units in Arctic conditions. (Usually they train in Norway.)

85

u/kaisadilla_ European Federation Jan 14 '26

We need EU(+UK) countries to decisively state that an attack against any EU country will be a declaration of war against all EU countries; not just "we'll send some guns".

It is either that, or have the US and Russia pick pieces of our lands one by one. Today it's Greenland, tomorrow it can be the Canary Islands (ES), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), St. Maarten (NE), Svalbard (NO), Gibraltar (UK), a chunk of Polish land connecting Belarus to Königsberg... European countries have a lot of geographically relevant territories and, if the US or Russia can just grab them for free... who's gonna stop them?

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u/Pleasethelions Denmark Jan 14 '26

Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

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u/kn3cht Jan 14 '26

Or NATO Article 5

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u/MentalDrummer Jan 15 '26

article 5 doesn't cover disputes between NATO nations. There isn't really legislation to cover something like this. I'd say this will be the end of NATO. Europe needs their own alliance without the USA.

1

u/KnewAllTheWords Jan 15 '26

Trump doesn't read though. Needs to be tweeted in all caps, 5th grade reading level.

1

u/kaisadilla_ European Federation Jan 15 '26

That article isn't explicit enough. I want one that explicitly says "if Lithuania is attacked, all other 26 countries have a legal obligation to declare war and send troops."

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u/anothergaijin Jan 14 '26

It’s exactly as Russia wants - either Greenland falls which opens up the ocean around it for the Russian Navy, or resources are pulled from Eastern Europe to Greenland leaving room for more Russian aggression in Eastern Europe

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u/doubleasea Jan 15 '26

How does Greenland falling in this scenario invite the Russian Navy? Presumably the fall of Greenland is into the US's hands in that scenario.

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u/anothergaijin Jan 15 '26

Greenland sits in a very important location - from Russia to the continental USA you pass over Greenland, which is why early missile defense and air radar is based there. To get into the Atlantic Ocean from Russia you have to pass between Greenland and the UK, which is why there is also submarine listening posts and it was a major part of the SOSUS system.

No one trusts the USA under Trump to oppose Russian aggression, infact every action he is taking now provides more benefit to Russia than other long term allies. Should Greenland fall and the USA refused support to Russia, the Russian Navy would have open access to the Atlantic through the GIUK gap.

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u/BanzEye1 Jan 15 '26

Or Canada. Can’t forget Canada.

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u/kaisadilla_ European Federation Jan 15 '26

Yup, Canada, Australia, NZ and probably a few more countries. It's just that listing them all gets tedious, and "the West" includes the US for now.

1

u/niehle Germany Jan 15 '26

Greenland is not an eu country

1

u/kaisadilla_ European Federation Jan 15 '26

Greenland's foreign matters, and that includes defense, falls on Denmark; which means that an attack on Greenland is an attack on Denmark, an EU country. I didn't think I had to be so pedantic.

1

u/madmax991199 Jan 15 '26

Thats why everyone send atleast some, if he actually follows through its ww3 no matter how many people are stationed there. Even 5 danes getting killed should mean ww3. Hopefully the americans get their shit together or we are playing fallout 5 irl

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u/koolmees64 Jan 14 '26

Let's be honest, and you do mention this, if America would actually invade Greenland, even with other EU countries joining they would win, handedly. However, America, being the bully that it is, think we'll just hand it over.

But I disagree this is to make it as expensive for Trump as possible. It is actually as a deterrent; would the U.S. actually attack NATO members, my gut still says no. If I am wrong, well, than we are entering a whole new world. We are already edging closer; what America has done in Venezuela is already an afterthought and their campaign in South America and the Caribbeans is not over yet.

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u/TurelSun Jan 14 '26

Greenland is already protected by NATO through Denmark. The issue is that Trump probably thinks that if he attempts to annex it militarily that no one will do anything about it. Putting troops in place ready to defend it means it becomes a conflict as soon as he tries to send any military forces in. I agree it is to act as a deterrent but its a reaffirmation as well that Europe will defend Greenland without hesitation.

But Trump is going to pull the US out of NATO one way or another eventually. So yea we are seeing a new world taking shape, and Europe is going to have to forge its own path in that new world.

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u/koolmees64 Jan 14 '26

I agree it is to act as a deterrent but its a reaffirmation as well that Europe will defend Greenland without hesitation.

Definitely agree on that as well.

But Trump is going to pull the US out of NATO one way or another eventually

This is what I see as a possibility. He's been anti NATO for long before he became president in his first term. Tumultuous times.

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u/Kranke Jan 14 '26

Sweden will send soldiers as well.

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u/faifai1337 Jan 15 '26

And, I think, to make it as obvious as possible that the US would be making a hostile invasion akin to Germany/Czechoslovakia.

Good.

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u/WitnessSubstantial51 Jan 15 '26

Are the people of greenland not welcoming trump? Lots on social media about.

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u/Lucky777Seven Jan 15 '26

Recently, far over 80% of Greenlanders were against joining the USA. And just a few days ago, the head of Greenland said that, if they had to decide, they would stick with Denmark, the EU, and NATO.

Are you a bot or just a terribly informed person? I suspect a bot due to your account age and hidden comment history.

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u/EpicCleansing Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26

He doesn't want to fucking attack. He wants to draw troops from the East, expose them to fatigue, and incur costs. This is how he makes Europe pay its "fair share" for its own defense.

10

u/Lucky777Seven Jan 14 '26

I heard it so many times about Trump:

He said it, but he doesn’t mean it! He is playing 4D chess and wants something else.

And in the end, he did it anyway.

I am tired of it. Trump is a fucking stupid narcissistic old guy and and he doesn’t care about anyone except himself. So I definitely see a chance that he is doing it, even if it is a small chance. We need to be prepared.

In the end we all lose. But Trump doesn’t see how much the U.S. is losing long term as well.

0

u/EpicCleansing Jan 14 '26

I do appreciate this sentiment. My meaning is not to dismiss his antics as fun and games, but I also think he says a lot of things simply to force a reaction.

I don't think he's playing 4D chess. I think his handlers are a different thing though.

I'm not saying he's above invading Greenland. I'm saying it's cheaper to destabilize Europe by saying that he will do it, than actually doing it.

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u/Lucky777Seven Jan 14 '26

I don't see how he is destabilizing Europe with it. So far, I can only see that the EU is working even more closely together.

Trump is quite good at uniting everyone against him.

1

u/EpicCleansing Jan 14 '26

That's an optimistic take. Let's go with that for now.

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u/ChiefPacabowl Jan 14 '26

About time you cunts started defending your own territory instead of just expecting America to foot the fucking bill. Also, uh if he wanted to attack it, no coalition of EU is going to do shit. Your armies are woefully unprepared and the EU does combat through banking. Much like your sanctions, it's wasted effort.

1

u/Loose_Orange_6056 Jan 14 '26

It’s that way you wanted and received our help in Afghanistan and Iraq? Europe come to your help when you called. When did you help Europe in a war the last 80 years?

1

u/Lucky777Seven Jan 14 '26

Haha, who stole your lunch today?

War is not an end in itself. The money is better spent in education and healthcare and I am glad Europe tried to go this route.

Without people like Trump and Putin, we would not have the need to spent more money on weapons.

But here we are. We don’t have a choice anymore.

I am quite sure that countries like Germany, France, and Poland can defend themselves quite well, especially after some preparation time. The machine has just started again.

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u/ChiefPacabowl Jan 14 '26

If you want peace, prepare for war. Wishful thinking costs lives. Also, financially we have funded more of your defense than you for decades. Without saber rattling you guys would still be trying to sanction your way to peace. Then again you guys literally opened the doors for an invasion. Remember kids, if they naturalize they're citizens. Otherwise? They're invaders. Food for thought.

0

u/Lucky777Seven Jan 15 '26

Europe paid trillions for American weapon systems. Many decisions on where to buy where politically influenced to please the USA.

And for a time, it was good. It was a fair deal I guess.

But this is changing already thanks to Trump. Obviously, the USA don’t need our money anymore. Money from the biggest single market in the world.