Denmark planned to blow up Greenland's runways to prevent US military planes from landing on the island. Explosives and blood supplies were flown in from Copenhagen after Donald Trump warned he could end up taking Greenland "the hard way". In January, Danish soldiers arrived carrying explosives to destroy runways in Greenland's capital Nuuk and in Kangerlussuaq, a small town north of the capital. The soldiers also carried supplies from blood banks to treat the wounded if war broke out. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Sources from across the Danish Government, authorities, and European intelligence services told Danish public broadcaster DR the January 3 attack on Venezuela and capture of Nicolas Maduro served as a turning point for fears of a US invasion. Mr Trump insisted Greenland needed to be controlled by the US for strategic purposes to counter Russian and Chinese threats in the arctic. One high-ranking Danish source said: "When Trump keeps saying he wants to take over Greenland , and then what happened in Venezuela happened, we had to take all scenarios seriously." Denmark began to seek political support from European countries, including France and Germany, in a series of talks which started after the 2024 US election. On January 19, Operation Arctic Endurance was presented as a joint military exercise - with Danish, French, German, Swedish, and Norwegian soldiers all flown to Greenland. But sources said the operation was a serious mission, with Danish soldiers from its Dragoon Regiment, elite Jaeger Corps troops and French forces trained for war in cold, mountainous terrains. Danish F-35 fighter planes and a French naval vessel were sent towards the North Atlantic. Plans were already in place for Danish and European forces to be sent to Greenland, but these were brought forward. LATEST ON NATO: Keir Starmer sends Royal Navy to patrol Greenland in bid to calm Donald Trump Donald Trump launches new attack on Keir Starmer's Britain - and warns Nato faces 'very bad future' Britain 'struggling' to keep pace with Europe in rearming military despite Russia threat A top French official said Europe was brought together as a result of the tensions. The source said: "With the Greenland crisis, Europe realised once and for all that we need to be able to take care of our own security." While Copenhagen did not want to escalate tensions, Denmark did not want to do nothing in response to a US attack. Part of the strategy was to bring as many different nationalities of soldiers as possible to Greenland so that if the Americans rolled in, it would provoke a much larger diplomatic crisis. One British military officer was sent to Greenland as part of Operation Arctic Endurance. On January 15, Downing Street insisted the soldier's participation was a "routine part of military planning", saying it was not a deployment but a "military recce ahead of future Danish-led exercises". When asked if European soldiers would have fought against the US, one top German official said it was a question the country was "very glad we didn't have to answer". "If the US attacked Greenland – with Nato soldiers present – then you would have to put the biggest question mark on everything we believed in," the source added. On January 21, the President ruled out taking the arctic island through military action. "I won’t use force, I don’t want to use force...all the US is asking for is a place called Greenland," Mr Trump said at the World Economic Forum at Davos. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter