Greenland's Strategic Importance
For the Danish army, the threat to Greenland isn’t Trump but Russia. Interest in Greenland’s mineral potential has grown since Trump suggested buying the territory, home to many critical minerals.
Private Mads Hansen, one of three Danish soldiers permanently stationed at a former mining outpost called Mestersvig, acknowledges that life in eastern Greenland can be lonely, surrounded by mountains, drifting ice, and a vast polar sea.
“You get used to it,”
he said while showing off the base’s snowplows, with a radio and handgun hanging from his belt. Hansen and his colleagues are becoming familiar with another aspect of a soldier’s life in the Arctic, as the station is set to play a bigger role in supporting an expanded military presence as part of a broader defensive build-up directed at Russia.
The Danish army is expanding its presence in the Arctic to counter the Russian threat, with Mestersvig station being a key location.
Author's Summary
Danish army focuses on Russia as main threat to Greenland's security.