Denmark to speed up aid to Ukraine after incident with Russian frigate

Denmark will speed up the provision of a new military aid package to Ukraine worth about 1.8 billion Danish kroner — approximately $276 million. Most of the funds will be directed to strengthening Ukrainian air defense. The decision was made by Copenhagen after an incident involving a Russian warship off the Danish coast.

Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus announced the decision on September 18 after a meeting of the parliamentary foreign policy committee. According to him, the authorities decided to provide the funds to Ukraine faster than previously planned.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen clarified that the funds are intended to be directed primarily at air defense systems produced in Ukraine. The Danish side is also increasing the overall size of the package to 1.8 billion kroner.

The reason for speeding up the aid was the incident on September 14 in international waters near Gedser in southern Denmark. A Danish Air Force Fennec military helicopter was conducting scheduled photography of a Russian frigate when the ship fired two signal pyrotechnic charges in its direction. One of them passed at a short distance from the helicopter, according to the Danish Armed Forces.

According to Bruus, before launching the signal charges, the Russian ship did not establish radio contact with the crew of the Danish helicopter. Danish military officials stressed that the observation of the Russian ship was carried out in international waters and was a routine operation. The Russian side, in turn, accused Denmark of dangerous maneuvers near its ship.

NATO called the actions of the Russian ship irresponsible. Danish authorities linked the acceleration of the Ukrainian package directly to this incident.

“If anyone thinks they can pressure us into holding back support for Ukraine, they are mistaken,” — Rasmussen stated.

Denmark remains one of the largest donors to Ukraine relative to the size of its own economy and population. In July, Copenhagen announced a previous major military aid package of about 4.4 billion kroner. It included ammunition, weapons, military equipment and funding for training Ukrainian service members. About 1.3 billion kroner was allocated at that time for purchases directly from the Ukrainian defense industry under the so-called Danish model.

As part of its long-term support program, Denmark places particular emphasis on aviation and air defense, maritime security, drones and defense technologies. Copenhagen also participates in the international coalition for integrated air and missile defense of Ukraine.

Based on materials from: Reuters, Danish Armed Forces, Government of Denmark