The United States and Europe are engaged in a dispute over the Trump administration’s desire to “own” Greenland, taking attention away from Ukraine as it suffers through another brutal winter of Russian troops targeting its infrastructure.
Leaders from around the world, excluding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, descended on Davos, Switzerland, this week for the World Economic Forum, where the primary storyline has been President Donald Trump‘s insistence that the U.S. needs to acquire the Arctic island for national security purposes. Trump even went so far as to decline to rule out military force to achieve that objective.
At the same time, however, Trump and his team’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war have continued without demonstrable progress or success. And Russian officials are rejoicing in the apparent split between the U.S. and its long-standing European allies, who have come to Greenland and Denmark’s defense.
Other Ukrainian officials, including Office of the President head Kyrylo Budanov, National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, and David Arakhamia, leader of Zelensky’s parliamentary faction, traveled to Davos for the forum and to meet with their global counterparts. Zelensky left open the possibility that he could make a surprise appearance later in the week.
“Undoubtedly, I choose Ukraine in this case, rather than the economic forum, but everything can change at any moment,” Zelensky said, according to the Kyiv Independent.
As has become common during the war, Russian forces have been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with the goal of forcing Ukrainians to endure the brutal winter without the basics, such as running water, heat, and electricity, in the hopes of breaking their spirits.
“There are large-scale brown-outs now in Kyiv and in many other cities and communities,” Zelensky said on social media on Tuesday after a large Russian attack overnight. “In the capital alone, more than 5,600 apartment buildings are without heat following the Russian strike. Repair crews, all of our energy companies, state enterprises, and municipal services will be working around the clock to stabilize the situation. In the same active and effective manner, all of our diplomats and all of our representatives must work so that Ukraine has enough air defense missiles.”
School has been canceled until February due to a lack of heat.
Zelensky also said Russia used “updated tactics” in its most recent barrage and that Ukraine intends to inform the U.S. and other partners about it “in detail about the change in Russia’s strike tactics and the specific targeting of energy infrastructure.”
Another problem that will be a primary focus in Davos this week is the chartering of Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which is set to oversee the demilitarization of Hamas, the temporary governance of Gaza, and the enclave’s reconstruction, with the possibility of additional responsibilities.
Trump invited world leaders from all over the world to join the board, some with little to no connection with Gaza or the Middle East.
Both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they received invitations. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on everyone invited to join.
WHO WAS INVITED TO BE ON TRUMP’S ‘BOARD OF PEACE’?
“At this point, it is very difficult for me to imagine how Ukraine could be together with Russia in any kind of board or council,” Zelensky said of the committee.
A copy of the draft charter published by the Times of Israel appears to show that, without any changes, the board would have a portfolio beyond Gaza. The body’s mission would be “to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict,” according to the draft.
Even with the charter signing expected this week, it’s still unclear who will agree to Trump’s terms and whether European leaders will join it despite the Greenland dispute.
“They’re signing up for something that will be dominated by the United States, something that will be tethered to Trump’s prejudices and his whims,” Aaron David Miller, a longtime State Department Middle East official, told the Washington Examiner.
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron has already said he will not join it. In a statement, it said the proposal “raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question.”
WHAT IS EUROPE’S ‘TRADE BAZOOKA’ BEING FLOATED AS AN ANSWER TO TRUMP’S GREENLAND THREATS?
Canada will join but will not pay for the permanent seat, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
“There’s a major effect from the legal implications of whether a government, prime minister or president, has the authority to sign a nation up to some external body, there’s the political constraint of getting too close to Trump and his vision and view of the world, and it’s occurring at a time when, clearly he is annoyed, to say the least, frightened, annoyed anger the Europeans over Greenland,” added Miller, who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.