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11:33 12.01.2026 •
Donald Trump has ordered his special forces commanders to draw up a plan for the invasion of Greenland – but is being resisted by senior military figures, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Sources say that the policy 'hawks' around the US President, led by political adviser Stephen Miller, have been so emboldened by the success of the operation to capture Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro that they want to move quickly to seize the island.
British diplomats believe that Trump is also motivated by a desire to distract American voters from the performance of the US economy before the mid-term elections later this year, after which he could lose control of Congress to the Democrats.
But such a dramatic move would put him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and would effectively lead to the collapse of NATO.
According to the sources, the President has asked the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to prepare the invasion plan, but it is being resisted by the joint chiefs of staff on the grounds that it would be illegal - and would not be supported by Congress.
One source said: 'They have tried to distract Trump by talking about less controversial measures, such as intercepting Russian 'ghost' ships - a clandestine network of hundreds of vessels operated by Moscow to evade Western sanctions – or launching a strike on Iran.'
One diplomatic cable describes the 'worst-case' scenario as leading to 'the destruction of Nato from the inside'.
It adds: 'Some European officials suspect this is the real aim of the hardline MAGA faction around Trump. Since Congress would not allow Trump to exit Nato, occupying Greenland could force the Europeans to abandon NATO. If Trump wants to end NATO, this might be the most convenient way to do it.'
NATO on knife-edge with Trump to 'take Greenland easy or hard way'
Although America already has free access to the island, it would be put on a legal basis.
'European officials fear that, for Trump, the window of opportunity before the mid-terms is closing in the summer, therefore action is expected sooner rather than later. The NATO summit on July 7 seems like the natural timing for a compromise deal'.
It concludes: 'The current concerns [about an invasion] are driven by the most extreme views coming from Stephen Miller. The UK's positioning will be key - whether it sticks closely with European allies or breaks ranks [to sanction Trump's approach].'
NATO silence on Donald Trump’s Greenland threats rattles European allies
NATO’s silence in response to Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland has prompted alarm among European capitals fearful that the alliance is failing to defend the rights of Denmark, ‘Financial Times’ notes.
It has not issued a public statement asserting Denmark and Greenland’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, or responded to the US president’s stated ambition for the vast Arctic island that is part of the kingdom of Denmark.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with the flag of Greenland behind her, left, and Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, with the flag of the alliance behind him
FT montage
That has raised the ire of European members trying to present a united front and ease transatlantic tensions, and stands in stark contrast to the EU’s recent efforts to rally around Copenhagen.
Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary-general who enjoys a warm relationship with Trump, has been unusually absent on such a critical security issue affecting his membership. Suggestions from Paris and other capitals for enhanced NATO activity in Greenland have not yet been taken up.
While European officials accept that the US’s central role in the military alliance limits its options to respond, many told the FT that its absence from the crisis risks enhancing the sense of Trump’s impunity in dealing with allies and exploiting Europe’s security dependency on Washington.
“Since we’re clearly talking about nations that are all NATO allies, NATO should initiate a serious debate on this... in order to reduce or ease the pressure on the issue,” said Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister. “The debate is a debate that must involve NATO.”
Trump has accused Denmark of failing to adequately protect the island and invest in its security despite what he claims is rising Russian and Chinese naval activity around it. The White House has said military action was “an option” alongside purchase or other methods of taking control.
That has posed an excruciating challenge for NATO and Rutte. A US invasion or annexation attempt would mean direct conflict between two allies, calling into question its Article 5 mutual defence clause that many members see as its raison d’être.
“They’re conspicuously silent,” said one EU official. “Rutte was supposed to be the man Europe could rely on to be our Trump-whisperer. But he wasn’t supposed to be this quiet.”
“Of course, it is difficult to discuss these things inside NATO,” said an alliance diplomat. “But if you don’t, it implies that we are all OK with what is going on.”
The alliance has issued no public remarks, and Rutte, typically omnipresent in discussions about Euro-Atlantic security, has given only a 60-second response to a television interviewer’s question regarding the crisis.
Denmark is irritated by the silence of NATO leadership
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, said that Trump was “serious” about taking Greenland, and that “if the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, everything stops. Including our NATO.”
European officials involved in negotiations in Brussels said the statement was influenced by Copenhagen’s rising irritation at NATO’s silence, and reflected a desire to ensure the alliance realised what was at stake.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week said that “law is stronger than force” in reference to Greenland, while Council President António Costa said: “Nothing can be decided about Denmark and about Greenland without Denmark, or without Greenland.”
The leaders of NATO allies France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK released a joint statement with Denmark noting that they “will not stop defending” the principles of “sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders”.
Starmer considering sending military to Greenland as Trump ratchets up rhetoric
Photo: Reuters
Downing Street is in talks with European allies about deploying a military force to Greenland that would guard the Arctic for Donald Trump, ‘The Telegraph’ writes.
Military chiefs are drawing up plans for a possible NATO mission on the island, which the US president has threatened to seize for security reasons.
British officials have met with counterparts from countries including Germany and France in recent days to start the preparations.
The plans, still at an early stage, could involve British soldiers, warships and planes being deployed to protect Greenland.
European nations hope that significantly stepping up their presence in the Arctic would persuade Mr Trump to abandon his ambition to annex the strategic island.
Mr Trump has threatened to take ownership of Greenland through the use of force. It is a self-governed island but is territorially part of Denmark, a NATO member.
Greenland is also rich in natural resources, including copper, nickel, and rare earth minerals crucial for powering modern technology.
Mr Trump has floated the idea of effectively buying the territory by offering each of its 30,000 citizens up to $100,000 to switch allegiance to the US.
He has also not ruled out using military force to take the island, insisting that “we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not”.
His pursuit of the territory has plunged NATO into crisis and prompted speculation that the 75-year-old alliance could fall apart.
Europeans are hoping…
European countries are hoping to pull Mr Trump back from the brink by offering to station a military force on the island.
The idea was discussed at a meeting of NATO allies in Brussels on Thursday.
Sources told The Telegraph that the potential operation was in the early planning stages.
It could be a full-blown troop deployment or a combination of time-limited exercises, intelligence sharing, capability development and rerouted defence spending.
The Telegraph also understands the European Union is drawing up plans for sanctions on US companies should Mr Trump reject the offer of a NATO deployment.
A more extreme option could be to evict the US military from its bases in Europe, denying it a key staging post for operations in the Middle East and elsewhere.
British officials said the Armed Forces were already preparing for a greater role in Arctic security.
It came as a former RAF chief cast doubt over Britain’s ability to protect the Arctic, saying the nation’s defences had become “a flimsy facade”.
‘Our defences are a facade’
Air Marshal Edward Stringer said that the gap between the perception of the UK’s military strength and its actual capabilities had become cavernous.
In a report for Policy Exchange, he warned that not a single formation in the British military was currently sustainable in combat in its own right.
He wrote: “Now the USA is signalling strongly that it is putting ‘America First’ and the rest of Nato will have to look after its own defences.
“This fundamentally challenges the model that we had semi-accidentally slipped into – our national defences have been revealed to be a flimsy facade.
“The ‘Say-Do’ gap between the image of ourselves we have come to believe, and the reality of the hard power we can project in practice, is stark.
“The first necessary step is to recognise that, and recognise that the methods that got us into this mess have to be discarded ruthlessly.”
…In the spring of 2022, when Russia and Ukraine agreed in Istanbul on a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came to Kyiv. Johnson told Zelenskyy, “Let's just fight.”
Now these words are returning to Europe and Britain itself, who are on the brink of a military conflict with Trump.
Karma, sir...
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