‘If America invades Greenland we have to start shooting’ : insider’s dire warning | World | News
Things got very serious for the Danish armed forces based at the Joint Arctic Command in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. The pleasantly painted blue building has few fortifications and is unlikely to scare off attackers from the United States or anywhere else.
But then Donald Trump After initially announcing plans to take over Greenland in January 2025, a £3.5bn expansion in the Arctic has been announced, which will include a brand new command headquarters in Nuuk to monitor any threats in the Arctic region.
In a deal that now seems odd, given Mr. Trump’s war talk, Denmark is buying 16 more F-35 fighter jets from the United States, bringing its total fleet to 43. The increase in defense has not frightened the US president so far; he responded by mocking the investment, saying it would only add “one dog sled.”
Speaking months before Mr Trump said he might use force to take Greenland, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said: “With this agreement we are significantly strengthening the capabilities of the Danish Armed Forces in the region.”
The Arctic is at a critical crossroads between North America, Russia and the rest of Europe.
Worked on the new defense package with the governments of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
It will purchase two new Arctic ships, maritime patrol aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and early warning radar.
Personnel operating in Nuuk are aware that they are legally obliged to fire at any invader, regardless of the odds against them.
A 1952 directive means that if anyone invades Danish territory, soldiers must act without waiting for orders.
One source said: “All the armed forces know that we have a duty to open fire if we are invaded, whether by America or anyone else. There was no expectation that this would happen but we are all aware that the world is changing quite rapidly.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said last week that a military attempt to seize Greenland, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark, would mark the end of NATO.
When Trump announced his massive takeover plan a week ago, he claimed that Greenland was “covered everywhere with Russian and Chinese ships.”
Danish and Norwegian defense officials have repeatedly warned of intensifying Russian naval activity in their respective areas of the Arctic Ocean but have denied that Chinese warships have been detected near their waters.
