NATO increasing military presence in Arctic
- Feb 9
- 3 min read
Source: RT News
Russia has maintained it will defend its interests in the region
NATO is planning to increase its military presence in the Arctic around Greenland, a spokesperson for the US-led military bloc has announced.
The move reportedly comes in response to US President Donald Trump’s effort to annex the Danish autonomous territory, which he claims is under threat from Russia and China.
Russia has maintained that it has no stake in the feud over Greenland, but stressed that it will defend its interests in the broader Arctic.
“Planning work is underway on increased NATO activity under the name ‘Arctic Sentry’,” spokesperson for the bloc’s top military command in Europe, Martin O’Donnell, told reporters on Tuesday, according to multiple outlets. The exercise will “further strengthen NATO’s posture in the Arctic and High North,” he said.
The idea for the mission arose as a way to appease Trump after his claims that Russia and China could capture the island, according to Der Spiegel.
Both Moscow and Beijing have dismissed the accusations, with China arguing that the US is merely using the claims as a pretext for a military buildup in the Arctic.
EU officials have also rejected Trump’s claim. Last week, EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas noted that there was no evidence that “foreign adversaries” were targeting Greenland.
Russia already has widespread access to the region, as it possesses more than half of the global Arctic coastline. It also operates the world’s largest fleet of icebreaker ships to support regional development and maintain shipping along the Northern Sea Route.
However, Western governments are now increasingly relying on “illegitimate sanctions aimed at hindering the development of the Russian Arctic,” and favoring the “use of force” to secure their interests, Russian Foreign Ministry official Vladislav Maslennikov has said.
Russia “will continue to firmly defend its position in the region,” and will retaliate against any attempts to supplant its national interests in the Arctic, “especially in terms of security,” he told RIA in an interview published on Wednesday.
As of January 2026, roughly 200 Danish troops and approximately 150 U.S. personnel at Pituffik Space Base are stationed in Greenland, with a small, symbolic contingent of 30–40 additional European NATO troops deployed for
Operation Arctic Endurance to support Danish sovereignty.
Operation Arctic Endurance: Several European nations (France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, UK, Netherlands) sent small, symbolic teams to Greenland around January 14–15, 2026.
Total European Troop Addition: Reports indicate this symbolic force consists of about 34–37 personnel, including 15 from France and 13 from Germany.
Danish Forces: Denmark, which holds sovereignty over Greenland, reinforced its presence with about 100 to 200 soldiers
.
U.S. Presence: The U.S. maintains the Pituffik Space Base with approximately 150–200 personnel focusing on missile defense.
The deployment of additional European troops is intended as a show of solidarity with Denmark and a signal to the United States regarding Arctic security.
Did you know?
The United States is significantly larger than Greenland. While Greenland appears massive on typical Mercator projection maps, its actual land area is about 836,000 square miles (2.16 million km2) , whereas the total area of the United States is roughly 3.8 million square miles (9.83 million km2). The USA is roughly 4 times larger than Greenland.
Key Comparison Details:
Size: Greenland is roughly one-quarter (1/4) the size of the United States.
Contiguous US: The 48 contiguous U.S. states are about 3.5 times larger than Greenland.
Map Distortion: Greenland appears larger on maps because of the Mercator projection, which distorts the size of landmasses closer to the poles.
Scale: Greenland is, however, larger than individual, massive U.S. states like Alaska.
While Greenland is the world's largest island, it is only roughly the size of Western Europe or about 25% larger than Alaska.
