The transatlantic row over Greenland comes at a critical juncture of the war in Ukraine. Russia has been wrecking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with intense missile and drone barrages. And with this winter turning into an exceptionally frigid one — with temperatures dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius — there’s mounting worry in Kyiv about how the country can persevere without much greater assistance from Western allies, including the United States, when it comes to air defense.
“This winter is different from the three previous wartime ones for several reasons,” said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of Ukrainian energy company DTEK. “With stations and substations continually struck it is getting harder to repair them.”
“They’re firing everything they have to try to destroy the energy infrastructure — ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and all types of drones,” he added. “We only have three or four hours of electricity during the day. And with interruptions in heat supplies, whole apartment blocks have been without heat for a week.”
But with Europe consumed by discussions over Greenland, much of what Ukrainian officials came to Davos to explain and request is being drowned out by rising fears over the future of the U.S.-led security arrangement that has kept Europe safe since the end of World War II.
Likewise, Trump officials have been largely focused on Greenland — and Gaza — and Zelenskyy has struggled to nail down a scheduled slot for a bilateral meeting with Trump, according to Ukrainian officials.
According to a Republican foreign policy expert, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly, Zelenskyy is keen on a face-to-face meeting but has encountered reluctance from the White House. “Zelenskyy would always meet with Trump as he thinks the benefits outweigh the costs, and that if he isn’t engaging with him others are,” he told POLITICO.