Denmark announces $833 million military package for Ukraine

Europe, News September 17, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Denmark has announced another large-scale military aid package for Ukraine worth 5.8 billion Danish crowns or $833 million. The military package includes tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, tank ammunition, and anti-aircraft guns for Ukrainian forces.

According to a statement released by the Danish Ministry of Defense, the latest military aid package would be delivered in three rounds with the first batch of military equipment reaching Ukraine this year. The second batch would be dispatched next year while 52 million Danish crowns worth of military aid would be provided by 2025.

Since Denmark has a limited inventory of arms and weapons, it is expected that the announced equipment will be bought from a third party and then transferred to Ukraine. Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen did not specify with which countries Denmark plans to cooperate on the purchases.

“We are cooperating with those who are also interested in supporting Ukraine, and all this is happening in the Ramstein format, the meeting of which is scheduled for next week,” Poulsen said in a recent interview.

“After more than a year and a half of war, we have almost exhausted our defense stocks. Therefore, we are now looking into more targeted joint procurement and international cooperation, tailored to Ukraine’s needs here and now,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement following his government announcement.

Soon after the announcement was made, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that the plans for the military aid package were discussed during his meeting with the Danish Prime Minister in Copenhagen.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy F-16 jet — *^{Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen on an F-16 fighter jet. (Image Credit: Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa)}*

Last month, Zelenskyy visited Denmark on a significantly successful official trip seeking financial and military support. During his trip, Denmark along with Netherlands, Norway, and Germany announced additional support for Ukraine and vowed to deliver much-needed F-16 jets and their parts.

F-16 jets for Ukraine

Ukraine is set to reinforce its aerial defense in the ongoing war through European-donated fighter jets. During his latest trip to Western Europe last month, Zelenskyy was promised deliveries for Swedish Gripen fighter jets as well as dozens of F-16 combat aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands.

The Dutch and Danes had been seeking approval from Washington for re-exporting their F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv which they received last month. It is expected that the deliveries of the jets will still take some time as Ukrainian pilots are being trained to fly modern fighter jets.

Denmark to replace F-16s with F-35s

After donating its F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Copenhagen is planning to replace them with U.S.-made F-35 jets and has already started to take deliveries of the jets from the U.S.

Four F-35 fighter jets landed at an airbase in Denmark this week as a part of the first installment of the U.S.-made planes ordered by the NATO member country. Denmark has ordered a total of 27 F-35 fighter jets for $2.2 billion

Idag tog forsvarsminister @troelslundp imod de fire første F-35 fly i Skrydstrup i Sønderjylland. Det er en helt særlig dag for Danmark, og det er en vigtig styrkelse af flyvevåbnet og det danske forsvar med de moderne fly ✈️🪖 #F35 #dkforsvar pic.twitter.com/4Biz4SCAcV
— Forsvarsministeriet/Danish MoD (@Forsvarsmin) September 14, 2023