Denmark announces 19th aid package for Ukraine to 'support its urgent needs'
Denmark announced the 19th package of military aid to Ukraine, which will support the urgent needs of the Ukrainian army and make it possible to invest directly in Ukrainian arms production, reported the press service of the Danish Ministry of Defense.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the aid package combines "significant funding" for the Ukrainian defense industry, additional materials to support Denmark's donation of F-16 fighter jets and the transfer of weapons from its own stockpiles. The Ministry of Defense did not publish a specific list of weapons.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen asserted that Copenhagen provides "the maximum possible support for Ukraine's needs on the battlefield here and now."
"But we also have a Danish security commitment to support Ukraine the next 10 years. That is why we have created a Danish model for donations via the Ukrainian defense industry, which will help to build up the Ukrainian production of military equipment in the short and long term," the Danish defense chief stated.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said that investments in the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex are "an effective and sustainable way to support Ukraine's combat capability – both here and now, and in the long term."
He promised that Denmark, for its part, will continue to expand opportunities to support the Ukrainian defense industry and will involve the European Union in this.
The Ministry of Defense noted that a total of 1.2 billion Danish kroner, which is equivalent to $170 million, was reserved for investments in the Ukrainian defense industry in the last two aid packages. The new package makes it possible to distribute 1.2 billion kroner in such a way that the Ministry of Defense can quickly meet the needs of Kyiv. It is expected that the first project will be launched in the summer, the report says.
On April 25, it was reported that Denmark will increase the financing of the Ukraine Support Fund, within which Kyiv receives military aid, by 590 million euros.
On May 16, Denmark announced a new military aid package for the Ukrainian Armed Forces worth $815 million.