Denmark considered destroying Greenland runways amid fears of US attack [View all]
Source: Euractiv / DR National Danish public-service
Denmark is reported to have quietly prepared to blow up its own runways in Greenland – as European allies rushed troops north – amid fears that the United States might attempt to seize the Arctic territory by force in January.
According to reporting by Danish national broadcaster DR, citing multiple senior sources in Copenhagen and across Europe, Danish forces deployed to Greenland in January 2026 carried explosives intended to destroy key airstrips in Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq, in order to deny access to any incoming US military aircraft in a worst-case scenario.
The episode suggests the extent to which Denmark and its European allies appear to have considered – and prepared for – a potential military confrontation with the United States, highlighting strains in transatlantic relations and adding momentum to Europe’s push for greater strategic autonomy.
... The deployments were reportedly not merely symbolic. Aircraft are said to have transported blood supplies from Danish hospitals, indicating preparations for potential combat casualties. Danish F-35 fighter jets were reportedly armed and repositioned, while French naval assets and multinational troops were sent toward the Arctic. Several other European countries also hastily sent soldiers to Greenland at the height of the crisis ...
The US military operation in Venezuela on 3 January 2026 was a turning point. For European officials, the move demonstrated that President Donald Trump was willing to use force – elevating concerns that his repeated statements about “taking” Greenland might translate into action. ...
Read more: https://www.euractiv.com/news/denmark-considered-destroying-greenland-runways-amid-fears-of-us-attack/
My comment
The US bully methods require a reaction, but the Danish prime minister's investment in NATO and military hardware is a devastating mistake that does not create peace. Greenlanders, Danes and other helpers should instead prepare to defend Greenland completely without the use of weapons.
It is completely hopeless for tiny Denmark to defend with weapons against such a military giant. Therefore, stop the military fantasies about a "stumbling block", i.e. setting up one's own soldiers up for a quick defeat, as a sign that military resistance was tried and defeated.
That an active non-violent defense stands strongest against Trump's invasion forces can be seen in another of Trump's battlegrounds – namely on the streets of Minnesota and the other attacked cities in the USA. Here, ordinary citizens have successfully dampened the pressure from Trump's militia with such force that the active opposition of civil society actually forced Trump to retreat.
These completely fresh experiences are nicely in line with decades of research into how best to fight oppression, dictatorship and invasions. The chance of a lasting success in the fight for peace has been shown to be significantly higher when it is a broad part of the population that protests by peaceful means.
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