Only Russia could "save" Greenland from a U.S. takeover, a media tycoon said.
18:17, Thu, Jan 15, 2026 Updated: 18:19, Thu, Jan 15, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Image: Getty)
Russian officials and pro-Kremlin figures have accused the West of “militarizing” the Arctic and ridiculed what they described as Europe’s inability to defend Greenland as U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to take control of the mineral-rich Arctic island.
After Donald Trump said several times the US needs Greenland, claiming it was vital for security reasons, the White House said Wednesday that if the U.S. failed to gain control of the Arctic state, “Russia or China will do so instead.
Pro-Kremlin media tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev claimed that only Russia could “save” Greenland from a U.S. takeover, suggesting that Denmark’s allies would likely fail to help. “Only Russia can stop this. To save Greenland, Europe and a multipolar world," he said, quoted by The Moscow Times.
Trump said several times the US needs Greenland for national security reasons. (Image: Getty)
The online newspaper also said Russia’s Embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, said the alliance was using Trump’s statements “solely to advance an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda”.
“NATO has embarked on a course of accelerated militarisation of the Arctic, increasing its military presence there under the fabricated pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing,” the embassy said in a statement late Wednesday.
It added that European officials were already discussing plans to surround the island and deploy a large-scale collective landing force, accusing them of invoking “mythical threats that they themselves have created”. The UK has sent a military officer to Greenland as Denmark steps up its military presence in the Arctic and High North, amid repeated calls by Donald Trump for the US to assume control of the territory.
Denmark’s defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said on Wednesday an upcoming joint operation would involve several allied countries, warning that “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow”. Downing Street confirmed one UK military officer had been sent at Denmark’s request to join a reconnaissance group ahead of a planned Arctic Endurance exercise, but denied it amounted to a “deployment”. Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France also confirmed they would send personnel to the joint mission.
Greenland’s energy minister Naaja Nathanielsen recently told a press conference in Westminster that US military action would represent "the breakdown of the rule of law" and leave Western allies having to "figure out what is this new world order about".
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She said: "We feel that the rhetoric is offensive, as we have said many times before, but also bewildering because we have done nothing but support the notion that Greenland is a part of the American national self-interest."
Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland said he would rather remain part of Denmark than join the US.
4 weeks ago
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English (US) · 