When it comes to his country’s support for Ukraine, Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen sees only one red line: “We do not plan on sending soldiers to the field and do not consider this an option,” he said in an interview with Le Monde. For the rest, Denmarkis not skimping on its aid, as already demonstrated in the spring of 2023, when it gave 19 of its Caesar guns, freshly acquired from France’s Nexter – something which recently led Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to claim that her country had given “all [its] artillery” to Kyiv. Announced this summer, the delivery of the first of the promised 19 F16 fighter jets to Ukraine should take place before the summer, according to Frederiksen.
In January, this Nordic country of 5.9 million inhabitants was one of Europe’s biggest donors (coming in fourth) in terms of financial volume and second largest in proportion to its gross domestic product, behind Estonia, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute. In total, Copenhagen has already pledged €4.5 billion in military support. In addition, Denmark has set up an €8.1 billion Ukraine aid fund, which will enable it to continue financing its support until at least 2028.
“The most important thing we can do right now is to show the Ukrainians that we’ll be by their side for the long term,” said Lund Poulsen. The 10-year bilateral security agreement signed on February 23 in Lviv by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Frederiksen – who was making her fourth visit to Ukraine since the start of the war – is “a clear signal” in this sense, said the defense minister.
‘Being ready to do more’
The previous day, in Copenhagen, the government unveiled its 15th military aid package for Kyiv. Valued at €228 million, it included a shipment of 15,000 artillery shells,
“to be delivered within a few months,” in cooperation with the Czech Republic, as well as equipment and ammunition for air defense, mine clearance and drones.
On its website, the Ministry of Defense details donations made over the last two years. In addition to F16s and Caesar guns, Copenhagen has delivered 407 Stinger surface-to-air missile launchers, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and over 100 Leopard tanks (in cooperation with the Netherlands and Germany), as well as armored vehicles, ammunition and drones. “We’re listening to our friends in Ukraine and trying to provide them with what they need,” said the minister, delighted to see countries like France “being ready to do more.”
Denmark’s commitment allows Prime Minister Frederiksen to admonish the Europeans, as at the Munich security conference on February 17, when she hammered home: “Sorry to say, friends, there is still military equipment in stock in Europe. It is not only a question about production because we have weapons, we have ammunition, we have air defense systems that we don’t have to use ourselves at the moment − that must be handed over to Ukraine.”
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