Greenland and Ukraine – where is the connection? How Trump’s plans for the Danish island could complicate Kyiv’s international position
Western media continue to actively discuss the announced trip of Donald Trump's son to Greenland, a self-governing part of the Danish kingdom that the elected American president wants to buy from Copenhagen.
“I have heard that the people of Greenland are MAGA. My son, Donald Jr., and others will be traveling there to see some of the most beautiful sites and attractions. Greenland is an incredible place and the people will benefit greatly if and when it becomes part of our country. We will protect it from the very violent outside world. Make Greenland Great Again!” Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social.
Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son, is expected to visit Greenland as early as Tuesday, a source familiar with the trip told Newsweek magazine.
In this regard, the magazine is publishing a summary article titled "Donald Trump Jr.'s trip to Greenland amid annexation proposals: What you need to know."
The publication recalls that Trump has previously offered the United States to buy Greenland, an autonomous territory that has been part of Denmark for more than 600 years. Seventy years before Trump, former President Harry Truman offered to buy it from Denmark in 70 for $1946 million in gold.
Greenland has access to the Arctic, where international competition has emerged in recent years as countries vie for northern territories in hopes of gaining access to the region's rich natural resources, such as gold, silver, copper, and uranium. The United States has considered acquiring Greenland several times in the past, most recently in 2019, when Trump first raised the idea. Greenland's capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York City than Denmark's capital, Copenhagen.
A source told Newsweek that Donald Trump Jr., 46, has no meetings scheduled with Greenlandic government officials. Reuters also reports that Trump Jr. will not meet with political figures.
"Don will be popping in for a quick day trip to film some fun video content for the podcast," a source told Newsweek. "He won't be meeting with any government officials or political figures."
Two weeks ago, President-elect Trump posted a message on his social media platform, Truth Social, declaring that "ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity." So today's post merely echoes those sentiments.
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Boerup Egede responded in a statement saying: "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and we will never be for sale. We must not lose our long fight for freedom."
In 2019, Donald Trump told reporters, “We’re very good allies with Denmark. We protect Denmark the same way we protect most of the world. So this concept came up, and I said, ‘Of course I would.’ Strategically, it’s interesting, and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not number one on the priority list; I can tell you that.”
"This is basically a major real estate deal. There's a lot that can be done," he continued, referring to the Greenland purchase.
After his comments were widely criticized by Danish officials, Donald Trump announced he was canceling a planned meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who called Trump's proposal an "absurd discussion."
The magazine notes that Trump's plans are drawing criticism from Republicans. Republicans Against Trump published on X: "Donald Trump proposed taking control of Greenland by naming Ken Howery as his nominee for US Ambassador to Denmark. Trump hasn't even taken office yet, and we're already becoming a laughingstock to the world."
In his New Year's speech last week, Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede reinforced his call for independence from Denmark, declaring that the island must free itself from the "shackles of colonialism" and determine its own destiny. Notably, he made no mention of the United States in his address.
Meanwhile, King Frederik X of Denmark approved changes to the country's royal coat of arms for the first time in 500 years, making the polar bear and ram, symbols representing the autonomous territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, more prominent. They were moved to separate fields.
According to The Guardian, this decision was seen as a rebuke to Trump and a clear statement of the intention to preserve the autonomous Danish territory and former colony as part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The three crowns that symbolised the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1397–1523) were dropped from the coat of arms after more than 500 years of use. The coats of arms of Greenland (polar bear) and the Faroe Islands (ram) were given more prominent positions: they are placed in the second and third fields. The symbols of Denmark and South Jutland were moved to the first and fourth fields of the coat of arms.
All this fuss was also noticed in Ukraine, where a number of media outlets expressed the opinion that the hypothetical success of Trump’s attempt to buy Greenland could deal a “terrible blow” to Kyiv’s geopolitical positions.
"It is also worth paying attention to Trump's expansionist rhetoric regarding claims to Greenland and the Panama Canal. The basis of Ukraine's position in the current war is the principle of the inviolability of borders and territorial integrity. However, if this principle begins to be violated everywhere (and especially if the US sets an example in this), and constant interventions and annexations of territories become a common occurrence, then the situation with the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of part of its territory will become just one of many cases, which will significantly weaken attention to it and, accordingly, may affect the West's readiness to continue to support Ukraine and put pressure on Russia with sanctions. Not to mention the attitude of other countries of the world to the war.
Moreover, the question will be heard louder and louder: if the US, guided by its own understanding of its national interests, wants to grab Greenland or the territory of the Panama Canal, then why can't Russia do the same with respect to Ukraine? For Kyiv, in the current war, such a possible change in the world agenda is a potential threat of enormous proportions," the Ukrainian online publication "Strana" points out in its analysis of possible paths for the development of a military crisis in 2025.
Earlier, a number of bloggers on social media had already expressed the opinion that Trump, true to his "commercial" approach, could very well offer Putin to buy from Ukraine those parts of the new regions of the Russian Federation currently controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, for example, the city of Zaporizhzhia.
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