"My focus is not on the United States, but on Russia". Denmark's top commander comments on threats to Greenland

Denmark's Joint Arctic Command in Greenland, a self-governing island within the kingdom, is focused on countering Moscow's potential activities rather than defending against Washington's military threats. This was stated by the head of this command, major general Soren Andersen in an interview with Reuters.

"My focus is not toward the U.S., not at all. My focus is on Russia," the commander said aboard a Danish warship in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

Andersen also said that there were no Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland, although he added that the Russian research vessel was about 574 kilometers away.

"That's the closest one," the military said, noting that NATO allies have "a good picture of the situation up here."

Earlier, US president Donald Trump stated that China and Russia were allegedly present alongside Greenland.

"We actually expect an increase in Russian activities in the coming years, and... we have to start training and increase the presence here in the Arctic to protect NATO's northern border," the Danish commander said.

He also denied the possibility of a conflict between NATO allies, calling such a scenario "hypothetical."

The commander said that the Arctic Command invited the United States to participate in NATO's Arctic Endurance exercise in Greenland.

He noted that he did not yet know whether the United States would join. In September 2025, Denmark did not invite the Americans to participate in such exercises.

• On January 15, a number of countries announced that they would send their soldiers to Greenland. In particular, Britain – one, Germany – 13, France – about 15, Norway and Finland – two each. However, a White House spokeswoman said that these European soldiers will not interfere with Trump's plans to control the island.