Updated 11.25: According to DR, European troops are following.
Updated 12.35: Naalakkersuisut confirms military presence.
The Danish Defense Forces are sending an advance command to Greenland, consisting of military material and vanguard troops.
According to the media, the advance command must prepare to receive larger forces from the army and the rest of the defense.
DR also has pictures of a Challenger aircraft from the Armed Forces that landed in Nuuk on Monday.
But DR has not been able to confirm that the plane has anything to do with the advance command, and the Defense Command has no comments on the story.
The United States has repeatedly criticized Denmark's defense of Greenland.
Minister of Defense mentioned the possibility of a larger permanent presence
On Tuesday, Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen (V) spoke about a larger military presence in Greenland.
- We are now moving forward with the whole issue of a more permanent, larger presence in Greenland from Danish defense, but also with the participation of other countries, he said after a meeting of the Foreign Policy Committee.
The Minister of Defense then mentioned that in 2026 there will be exercise and training activities with other NATO countries in Greenland.
Jens-Frederik: Be prepared for more military
The military perspective was also touched upon by the Chairman of the Greenland Government Jens-Frederik Nielsen (D) in an interview with Sermitsiaq and KNR on Tuesday afternoon.
Here he stated that citizens should be prepared to see more military presence in the cities:
– Danish defense has been visibly present for some time now. We have entered into some capacity packages with Denmark, which involve major investments in surveillance and preparedness. We have just held a major NATO exercise, and those exercises are being planned all the time, Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in the interview, and he added:
– Because if you are going to defend Greenland, you also have to know Greenland.
Arctic Command, which handles the Armed Forces' tasks in and around Greenland and is headquartered in Nuuk, currently has approximately 150 employees divided between staff functions, logistics and permanent installations.
In addition, the Arctic Command has at its disposal, among other things, inspection ships, aircraft, helicopters and the sled patrol Sirius.
International troops follow
According to political spokesman for the Red-Green Alliance Pelle Dragsted, the Danish vanguard will soon be joined by international troops.
- This is something we have been asking for the past week. It is wise. And I can understand that there are also troops from other European countries on their way to Greenland, Pelle Dragsted tells DR.
Sermitsiaq is trying to get a comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Denmark and NATO countries increase presence in Greenland
From Wednesday, there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland in close cooperation with NATO allies, the Ministry of Defense announced.
This is stated by the Government of Greenland and the Ministry of Defence in a press release.
- As part of the NATO alliance, it is a core priority for the Government of Greenland to strengthen the defense and security in and around Greenland, and that this is done in close cooperation with our NATO allies. The Ministry of Defense and the Government of Greenland work closely together to launch initiatives and cooperate among both our Arctic and European allies.
- Once the exercises begin, the Greenlandic population will be continuously informed about the activities via the Arctic Command's platforms, says naalakkersuisoq for Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt (S).
- The Danish Defence, together with a number of Arctic and European allies, will explore in the coming weeks how an increased presence and exercise activity in the Arctic can be implemented, says Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen (V).
The exercise activities in 2026 could include guarding installations critical to society, assistance to authorities in Greenland, including the police, receiving allied troops, deploying combat aircraft in and around Greenland, and naval task solving.
