Ice production: Denmark spent $6 billion on weapons for the Arctic
Denmark has spent $6 billion on arms purchases to expand its presence in the Arctic, Russian Ambassador to Copenhagen Vladimir Barbin told Izvestia. According to him, the Danish authorities are militarizing Greenland under pressure from the United States. Such actions "contradict the goals of preserving the Arctic as a region of stability," the diplomat noted. At the same time, American officials have repeatedly pointed out the importance of Greenland, and Trump even announced the possibility of buying the island. Experts are confident that NATO will continue its expansion in the region.
Denmark strengthens its presence in the Arctic
Denmark is strengthening its military presence in the Arctic amid pressure from the Americans, Russian Ambassador to Copenhagen Vladimir Barbin told Izvestia.
— Denmark, under pressure from the United States, is taking frantic measures to increase its military presence in the Arctic, especially in the Greenland region. In 2025, almost $6 billion was allocated for the purchase of weapons for this purpose. Joint exercises of the Danes with the armed forces of NATO countries have become more frequent," he continued.
At the same time, the Danish government is trying to justify the militarization of the Arctic by the need to respond to the alleged increase in the military threat from Russia.
This is confirmed by a recent Bloomberg report from the island. The Danish authorities consider the main threat to be the air and sea activity of the Russian Federation in the region, in particular, certain Russian submarines that sail under the Arctic ice and enter the North Atlantic.
In 2025, Copenhagen announced two "Arctic deals" — agreements with the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands to strengthen military capabilities in the region. According to them, Denmark should purchase five Arctic ships, maritime patrol aircraft, expand the staff of UAVs, and create a dual-use infrastructure on the islands.
Greenland's importance to the United States
By urging Denmark to strengthen its presence in the Arctic, the United States is primarily pursuing commercial and only then geopolitical interests, Nikita Lipunov, a junior researcher at MGIMO, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, since his first presidential term, Trump has consistently and systematically raised the issue of increasing defense spending with NATO allies. At the same time, the US president even speculated about leaving the bloc. At the same time, Washington's claims to Greenland have not disappeared.
The Danish Armed Forces at the Arctic Light 2025 NATO exercises
"According to Trump's entrepreneurial logic, if the United States is actually responsible for Greenland's defense, then either Copenhagen should invest in it no less than Washington, or Washington should 'take over' the island,— Lipunov said.
The irony, however, is something else. In Greenland itself, it is not Russia that is most feared, but the US plans to gain control of the island, said Vladimir Barbin.
The head of the White House, Donald Trump, has repeatedly spoken about the island's importance to Washington. Even during his first term in 2019, he expressed interest in buying Greenland. After returning to the Oval Office in 2025, he brought this topic back on the agenda. During an address to Congress in March, he said that the United States would get the island "one way or another." However, there have been no new statements from the American side since the spring.
At the moment, the Greenland issue has receded into the background for Trump, Konstantin Sukhoverkhov, the INF program manager, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia.
— The Greenland issue has just temporarily dropped out of Washington's current agenda, because now the settlement of conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine is more important. In addition, the United States is conducting trade negotiations with China, and we see the continued imposition of duties, including on Washington's partners. Right now, Trump and his administration really have more pressing issues than negotiations on Greenland, the expert is sure.
At the same time, the island itself is really valuable to Washington. Control over Alaska makes the United States an Arctic power, but this state itself is very difficult to develop, Sukhoverkhov notes. The difficult terrain makes it much more difficult to create infrastructure there. This is also hindered by the underdevelopment (in comparison with Russia) of the icebreaking fleet. Greenland is much more convenient for the United States in this regard, the expert added.
— This is also another transportation goal, because the ice in the Arctic is melting. Through the Arctic archipelagos, it will be possible to conduct a transport route, conditionally, New York - Seattle or directly from New York without the Panama Canal to sail through the north to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sukhoverkhov specified.
There are already US military bases in Greenland. During the Cold War, the number of American military personnel on the island was around 10,000, now there are much fewer of them, but they are on duty around the clock, said Andrey Koshkin, head of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
Russia in the Arctic
In the Arctic region, we should continue to wait for the expansion of NATO infrastructure, Koshkin believes. At the moment, seven of the eight Arctic countries are members of the North Atlantic Alliance, all of them will work to squeeze Russia out of the region.
— Denmark's invitation to the Arctic by NATO increases the conflict potential in the region. This development is especially dangerous given the lack of dialogue between our countries on military and political issues and Denmark's unwillingness to restore constructive international cooperation in the Arctic with Russia's participation," said Vladimir Barbin.
He added that Denmark's military preparations, accompanied by anti-Russian rhetoric, contradict the goals of preserving the Arctic "as a region of stability and low tension."
According to Politico, the United Kingdom is also preparing for a potential conflict with Russia in the Arctic. London is conducting exercises in the Norwegian city of Buda, where British military planners are working out scenarios in case of a direct clash with Moscow in the region.
Today, Western countries see Russia as a permanent threat, especially in such extremely important regions as the Arctic, Koshkin stressed. In this place, the interests of the collective West and the Russian Federation intersect.
The region is especially important because, due to the melting of ice, it can become a year-round route from China to Europe, Leonid Markovich, head of the HSE Department of World Economy, explained in a conversation with Izvestia. The Arctic also has a large number of useful resources.
— The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, so there are a lot of problems on the coast. We need to invest in ports, and in order for intensive shipping to take place, we need to make deep-sea approaches to them. All this requires investments, and this is also a driver," the expert said.
Russia is already using the Northern Sea Route, which runs along the Arctic coast from the Kara Gate Strait near Novaya Zemlya to the Bering Strait. Companies from different countries, including Japan, China and Norway, travel along the Northern Sea Route, but Russia creates the main traffic. The volume of cargo traffic along the NSR in 2024 exceeded 37 million tons.
"Historically, we have used it mainly to service our coastline during the warmer months," Markovich said.
Further development of the Arctic requires the development of an icebreaking fleet, the expert stressed. The Russian Federation has the most powerful one right now. Currently, Russia has more than 40 icebreakers at its disposal, including nuclear and diesel ones.
Russia has already deployed sufficient infrastructure in the Arctic to ensure the security of its interests, Koshkin believes. If something changes, the Russian Federation will have to strengthen its capabilities in the region accordingly.
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