January 18, 2026, 1:34 p.mJanuary 18, 2026, 2:05 p.m
The Bundeswehr’s exploration team is scheduled to withdraw from Greenland again today. The 15 soldiers will leave the Arctic island on a civilian plane towards Copenhagen, a spokesman for the German Press Agency’s operational command said. “Bild” had previously reported. US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would impose special tariffs on eight countries involved in the exploratory mission.
The German team has only been in Nuuk since Friday evening German time to explore the conditions for military exercises. On Saturday evening it was said that it was not possible to predict how long the stay would be.
Now the command spokesman said the team had completed the mission. “The exploration results will be evaluated in the coming days.”
On Saturday, US President Trump once again insisted on annexing Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, to the USA. He justifies this with security concerns about an alleged threat from China and Russia in the region.
Trump criticized the deployment of soldiers
Trump also strongly criticized the fact that Germany and other European NATO states sent some soldiers for the exploratory mission at Denmark’s invitation. Trump said the allies’ soldiers were there “for unknown purposes.” This is a “very dangerous situation” for the safety, protection and survival of the planet.
Several NATO countries, including Germany and France, had sent soldiers to the island. The question is whether the Arctic is safe and to what extent Germany and its NATO partners can contribute to this, according to the Defense Ministry. Trump announced additional tariffs against these eight European countries.
Unlike Trump, the European NATO allies are of the opinion that Greenland does not have to be taken over by the USA in order to protect the Arctic. NATO could do this as a group. (hkl/sda/dpa)