War exercises in Greenland (III)

New threats of annexation

The Trump administration has sought to further pile on the pressure Greenland over the course of the year, largely ignoring the furore over its annexation threats made in January.[1] In mid-February, President Trump announced that he intended to send a hospital ship to Greenland to assist the inhabitants of the vast island, whom he alleged were badly served. The Greenlandic government rejected this. In fact, healthcare is at a high standard and publicly funded. Given the American healthcare arrangements, it would deteriorate significantly in the event of a US annexation. In May, following protests by Nuuk residents against the opening of a new US consulate in the capital, Trump posted an image in which he is depicted as an oversized figure looming over a Greenlandic town.[2] Further posts followed. Most recently, on Monday, Trump shared a map on his Truth Social platform showing the whole of Central and North America, including the Caribbean and Greenland, as the territory of the United States.[3] Back in July, he had stated on a radio show that one could “bet” Greenland would be under US control before the end of his second term in office.[4] The Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, was quoted at the time as saying that children on the island had become afraid of Americans.

Access to Greenland’s oil

The US encroachment is now moving from threats to actions. In March, it emerged that the recently established US company Greenland Energy had acquired – from a British firm called 80 Mile – the rights to drill for oil in Nunap Qeqqa (Jameson Land) on Greenland’s eastern coast. These rights predate the general ban on the granting of drilling licences in Greenland that was introduced in 2021. In July, Greenland Energy transported dozens of containers of drilling equipment to Nunap Qeqqa and announced its intention to commence drilling in October. Apart from the historic licence granted for drilling in principle, none of this was authorised by Greenland. Legally, the transport of drilling equipment and all other steps must be approved in detail, irrespective of the general licence. Following protests in Nuuk, Greenland Energy has since announced that it does not intend to start drilling without the necessary permits.[5] The company has close links with the Trump administration and can count on its support.[6] The US Special Envoy for Greenland, Jeff Landry, had cast an eye over the island’s resources and stated back in May that “the territory could be exporting two million barrels of oil a day,” declaring on Fox News, “We need a deal.”

US military bases

Meanwhile, talks between Greenland, Denmark and the United States over the island’s future are ongoing. Opinion polls show that the annexation of the island is opposed by an overwhelming majority of the Greenlanders. The negotiations reportedly centre in particular on the establishment of new US military bases in Greenland. At present, American armed forces are only operating from Pituffik Air Base. One line of discussion is to prioritise reviving former US bases that are no longer in operation. For the US it would probably be considerably cheaper than building completely new bases. One site being mentioned is the former US base near Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland, which the US military abandoned way back in 1958.[7] There are reports that the Americans left behind vast quantities of trash, which remain to this day and have been polluting the environment. The legacy apparently includes “hundreds of rusty oil drums” that lie “right on the coast”, “along with broken asbestos sheets, car batteries”. All this waste is “piled metres high and spread over several hectares, right next to a bright green meltwater stream that flows into the sea here”: the whole lot is described as “a ticking time bomb.”[8]

Raw materials and infrastructure

The European Union has now entered the ring in the power struggle over Greenland. The Commission is reportedly planning to boost the funding allocation for the island from 225 million euros in the current seven-year budget to 530 million euros for the years 2028 to 2034.[9] And, during her visit to Nuuk at the start of the week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that Brussels would make a further 200 million euros available with immediate effect to support projects involving raw material extraction and to modernise infrastructure.[10] Greenland’s lack of infrastructure is seen as a problem, not least when it comes to transporting the country’s mineral resources for export. As a first step, the EU is to fund molybdenum mining in eastern Greenland, which is being advanced by a Canadian firm, as well as graphite mining in the south of the country, initiated by a British company. The processing of Greenland’s raw materials will reportedly take place in Europe. What is more, a new partnership agreement between Greenland and the EU was signed during von der Leyen’s visit. The island is an autonomous territory of Denmark but does not actually belong to the EU. The partnership agreement is being presented as a counter-model to Trump’s hostile annexation plans.

NATO manoeuvres

In addition to political and economic ties, the EU and its member states are increasingly focused on establishing a military presence of their own in and around Greenland. This must be seen as part of the power struggle against Russia. Denmark has stepped up the activities of its armed forces on the island. In August, Copenhagen deployed around a hundred conscripts there for a month for the first time. Compulsory military service in Denmark was recently increased from four to eleven months, and applies equally to men and women. The conscripts were supposed to acclimatise to the harsh Arctic climate, the military explained.[11] Last year, the Bundeswehr also began to include Greenland in its military exercises, and German warships were sent there on an ad hoc basis (as reported by german-foreign-policy.com [12]). On Monday, NATO launched its Arctic Shield manoeuvre involving some 400 soldiers. The ‘High North’ exercise is taking place in the south and west of Greenland. Military personnel from eleven alliance member states are taking part. Canada is included, but not the US. The Bundeswehr is sending military observers and providing logistical support.[13] Arctic Shield is part of the NATO’s Arctic Sentry, a mission launched in February. It will lead to a stronger military presence being established in Greenland. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov describes Arctic Sentry as “direct threats to Russia’s security” and warns of the increasing “risks of incidents that could trigger an armed confrontation, with potentially catastrophic consequences.”[14]

[1] See: Kriegsübungen in Grönland (II).

[2] Elías Thorsson: ‘Hello, Greenland!’: Trump posts looming meme as protests greet new US consulate. arctictoday.com 23.05.2026.

[3] Alicia Curry: Iceland summons US ambassador over Trump’s stars and stripes map. bbc.com 08.09.2026.

[4] Elías Thorsson: Trump says you can ‘bet’ Greenland will be under US control. arctictoday.com 03.08.2026.

[5] Tiago Ventura: Why the Movements of a U.S. Oil Company in Greenland Have Attacted Attention. time.com 15.08.2026.

[6] Tom Burgis: Licensed to drill? How a Trump-linked Texas oil company is elbowing its way into Greenland. theguardian.com 09.07.2026.

[7] Daniel Bush: US in closely guarded talks to open new bases in Greenland. bbc.com 12.05.2026.

[8] Jan Petter, Sara Wess: Radioaktives Wasser, Asbest, rostige Ölfässer – das giftige Erbe der USA auf Grönland. spiegel.de 01.07.2026.

[9] EU sichert Grönland 200 Millionen Euro zu. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 08.09.2026.

[10] Thomas Gutschker: Europas Tor zur Arktis. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 08.09.2026.

[11] Magnus Lund Nielsen: Denmark deploys first conscripts to Greenland. euractiv.com 20.08.2026.

[12] See: War exercises in Greenland (I).

[13] Astri Edvardsen: Arctic Shield: 400 Soldiers From 11 NATO Nations to Exercise Defending Greenland. en.highnorthnews.com 02.09.2026.

[14] NATO’s arctic activity poses ’direct threat’ to Russia, Lavrov warns. france24.com 31.08.2026.