Denmark plans to increase its spending on military assistance to Ukraine by 17.9 billion kroner ($2.59 billion) in 2023 and 2024. This was announced today by Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Danish government and the people of Denmark for this decision.
“This tangible contribution will further strengthen the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the short and medium term. Our strength is in our unity!” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his official Twitter account.
In March, Denmark, a country of less than 6 million people, set up a $1 billion fund to help Ukraine’s military, civilian and business sectors in 2023. Mette Frederiksen, who is a contender to become NATO Secretary General after Jens Stoltenberg’s term ends on 30 September, said today on Danish Public Radio that the government plans to add another 7.5 billion kroner to the fund this year and 10.4 billion kroner next year.
The money is intended for military aid, Danish Radio reports. This statement came on the eve of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visits to Denmark’s northern neighbours, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
“Denmark is one of the leaders in financial assistance to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, total military support has amounted to $1.4 billion, and total humanitarian assistance, including macro-financial assistance, has amounted to $212 million. The Government of Ukraine highly appreciates Denmark’s support and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation and further involvement of Danish business in projects to restore Ukraine,” said Yulia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, at the Ukrainian Investment Forum in Copenhagen.
As a reminder, we recently wrote that Denmark and the Netherlands announced their intention to jointly purchase, refurbish and transfer 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine (for a review of these tanks by Yuri Svitlyk, click here).
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