Denmark Planned to Destroy Greenland Airfields in Case of U.S. Invasion

Denmark made preparations in Greenland for a potential U.S. attack, including getting airport runways ready to be blown up.

According to DR, this information comes from sources among French, German, and Danish officials.

All of these sources have played, and continue to play, a key role in the international crisis sparked by U.S. demands to take control of Greenland.

According to the sources, a decisive event in January 2026 prompted the Danish government and its European allies to urgently deploy military forces to Greenland. When Danish units were rapidly sent to the island, they brought explosives with them, including for destroying the runways in Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq.

The aim was to prevent U.S. aircraft from landing troops on the island if President Donald Trump had decided to carry out a military takeover of Greenland.

The shipment also included donated blood from Danish blood banks to provide aid to potential casualties.

Key officials from France and Germany note that shortly after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president – already in early 2025 – Denmark was seeking political support in confidential talks to counter growing pressure from Washington over the annexation of Greenland.

Denmark sought support from the governments of Paris and Berlin, as well as from the capitals of Nordic countries. According to sources, the goal was to form a European political alliance to protect the Kingdom.

On the one hand, Denmark aimed to avoid escalating the conflict with the United States. At the same time, it did not want to unconditionally submit to overwhelming military superiority in the event of a potential attack on Greenland.

Countermeasures initiated by Denmark together with its allies included demonstrating European solidarity and conducting joint military activities on Greenland’s territory.

In early January 2026, the situation sharply escalated, prompting the Danish government to speed up the deployment of troops.

Eight DR sources separately highlight a key moment, the morning of January 3, 2026, when news broke of a U.S. attack on Venezuela and the removal of the country’s president.

In the shortest possible time, forward units involving Danish, French, German, Norwegian, and Swedish troops were deployed to Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq.

According to six sources, the goal of stationing troops in Greenland, with the maximum number of national contingents, was to create a deterrent effect: in the event of a U.S. attempt to seize the island by force, it would require large-scale military operations.

It was only on January 21 of this year that Donald Trump changed his rhetoric – from not ruling out a military scenario to stating that he would refrain from using force. He said that the United States had reached agreements on full and indefinite military access to Greenland within the framework of a NATO agreement.