European troops arrive in Greenland as Trump throws another curveball

Denmark and other NATO allies have said the US approach to Greenland threatens the very existence of the military alliance, already undermined by the Kremlin’s expansionist ambitions in the east.

European capitals were surprised and dismayed by Trump’s proposed peace deal to end the nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, the continent’s largest land conflict since World War II.

kyiv and its allies worked closely with the United States for months, revising the proposal and securing long-sought security guarantees from Washington.

US military action in Venezuela and unrest in Iran have attracted Ukraine’s attention, although the next step was expected to be to present the plan to Moscow, with the ball firmly in Russia’s court.

But on Wednesday, Trump flipped the script once again.

It is not Putin but Zelensky, he said, who constitutes the obstacle to a peace agreement.

Trump told the Reuters news agency that the Kremlin was ready to make a deal, while kyiv was more hesitant. When asked why US-led negotiations had not yet resolved the war, Trump replied: “Zelensky.”

The Ukrainian president said Wednesday evening that he was as “productive as possible” in the negotiations, but that he expected more “energy” from the United States.

It was Russia that rejected the US peace plan, not Zelensky, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. Russia’s only response was “further missile attacks on Ukrainian cities,” Tusk said Thursday, referring to a wave of attacks that have crippled Ukraine’s power grid, leaving millions in the dark.

The Kremlin, on the other hand, agreed with Trump’s assessment that Zelensky was at fault. “This is indeed the case,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The unpredictability of Trump’s stance on Ukraine, coupled with his growing threats against Greenland, leaves Europe in a perpetual frenzy to concoct a response, said Christoph Meyer, professor of European and international politics at King’s College London.

The multiple competing crises and the scale of the challenges facing European leaders are “daunting,” Meyer told NBC News.

The head of European foreign policy appears to agree.

The state of the world means it might be a “good time” to start drinking, Kaja Kallas privately told lawmakers, Politico reported, citing two people in the room. Kallas’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

But it is clear that a policy of “playing light” with Trump is not working for Europe, Meyer said.

“What the Europeans are trying to do now is sort of respond, but in a way that doesn’t antagonize the administration too publicly, but still sends a pretty clear message that there are going to be very significant costs if they continue down this path,” he added.