Putin warns of Arctic war if US takes Greenland as Britain and France to send 'reassurance force' to Ukraine

27 March 2025, 18:45 | Updated: 27 March 2025, 18:49

Vladimir Putin has said the United States is “serious” about taking Greenland and warned Russia is ready and willing to militarily “protect its interests in the arctic.”

It comes as Ukraine’s allies, including the United Kingdom, met in France to discuss peacekeeping plans in the event of a ceasefire.

Britain and France confirmed on Thursday they are drawing up plans to send a "reassurance force" to Ukraine and will soon send military chiefs to the country to determine the scheme’s viability.

Speaking after the announcement, Russia’s Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to NATO countries as he declared Russia is ready to protect its land in the arctic if Donald Trump goes ahead with his plan to purchase Greenland.

"It would be a grave mistake to think that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration, nothing of the kind," he said.

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He added that the US had previously drawn up plans to take Greenland in the nineteenth century, but these were abandoned.

"Those plans have deep historic roots and it is obvious that the US will continue to promote their geopolitical, military and economic interests in the Arctic.

"As for Greenland, I think that this is an issue that concerns two states and has nothing to do with us.

"However, we are concerned by the fact that the NATO countries increasingly identify the far north as a foothold for possible conflicts."

Donald Trump has insisted the United States will take over Greenland, which is currently controlled by Denmark while having its own government, since entering office in January.

Later this week, Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, will visit the Nordic country in a move seen as a purposeful attempt to stoke tensions.

It comes after up to 30 countries descended on Paris today, with "different countries putting forward different capabilities," Sir Keir Starmer said.

Referencing Macron, Starmer added that the "group asked Emmanuel and me to lead the co-ordination of the efforts we have touched on this morning."

But Starmer insisted peacekeeping plans were still in motion, saying it was his “long-standing position” that Parliament would have a say when the time comes for deploying British troops.

He added that any “reassurance force” would also need support from the US.

"This is done in recognition that we also need US involvement," the Prime Minister told reporters.

The British-French delegation heading to Ukraine will also be joined by a team from Germany, with Starmer saying Britain is "ready" to to come up with an "operational" deal."We will be ready to operationalise a peace deal whenever its precise shape turns out to be, and we will work together to ensure Ukraine’s security so it can defend and deter against the future,” Starmer said.

He added: "This is a group of countries coming together because each country is taking that leadership role at a crucial moment

"This is of course about Ukraine, but it's also about the future of defence in Europe more generally," he added.

He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the table in the coming "days and weeks".

“I don’t want to put a hard deadline on this but we need to see this developing in days and weeks, not months and months.

“It is clear the Russians are playing games...it is a classic from the Putin playbook,” he said. The Prime Minister also called on stronger sanctions against Russia.

“There was a very strong resolve across the room that now is not the time for pulling back or weakening old sanctions,” he said.

Starmer added:"On the contrary, now is the time for increasing sanctions on Russia.”

Donald Trump's administration has shown no public enthusiasm for the coalition's discussions about potentially sending troops into Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire to help make peace stick.

The US president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed the idea of a European deployment or even the need for it.

This week, the White House said the US and Russia agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.

The United States added it had made separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure all navigation through the area is protected and risks minimised.The deal is said to ban the use of air strikes against energy facilities in both countries as part of a wider ceasefire effort.

It comes after Kyiv and Moscow agreed in principle last week to a limited ceasefire after US President Donald Trump spoke with the countries' leaders, but the parties have offered different views of what targets would be off-limits to attack.