Denmark to spend €830 million on Ukrainian defense on behalf of EU

AMSTERDAM — Denmark will allocate €830 million ($935 million) to the Ukrainian protection trade in 2025 on behalf of the European Union, utilizing windfall earnings from frozen Russian property to purchase Ukraine-made weapons.

The Danish Ministry of Defence and the European Fee, the EU’s government arm, signed an settlement giving Denmark the position as implementing actor for the disbursement of a big portion of the windfall earnings this 12 months, the ministry mentioned in a press release on Friday.

The Danes have been frontrunners in investing Western army support in Ukraine’s protection manufacturing, utilizing funds to purchase regionally produced weapons reasonably than overseas gear by way of what is named the Danish mannequin.

“Denmark has taken the lead within the worldwide efforts to strengthen protection manufacturing in Ukraine,” Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen mentioned. “It’s a recognition of Denmark’s efforts on this matter that the EU has determined to channel much more funds by way of us this 12 months.”

The windfall earnings this 12 months shall be used for donations of provides together with ammunition, air protection and army gear produced within the Ukrainian protection trade, the Ministry of Defence mentioned.

Final 12 months’s gear purchases utilizing the Danish mannequin included Bohdana howitzers, long-range drones, anti-tank and anti-ship missile methods.

Shopping for Ukrainian strengthens the embattled nation’s manufacturing capability, ensures aggressive costs, and allows sooner adaptation to the Ukrainian wants, the ministry mentioned.

“This supplies apparent logistical benefits whereas additionally contributing to constructing Ukraine’s protection trade for the long run,” Lund Poulsen mentioned. “We are actually in a position to do that on a fair bigger scale.”

Denmark final 12 months allotted round €400 million of windfall earnings from Russian property on behalf of the EU, utilizing the Danish mannequin.

Complete funding channeled by way of the mannequin amounted to round 4.4 billion Danish kroner ($664 million) in 2024, with contributions from the Danish Ukraine fund, allies, and the EU, in response to the ministry. Denmark expects to implement greater than double that quantity by way of the mannequin in 2025, the MoD mentioned.

Denmark will allocate support to Ukraine on behalf of a number of nations, together with Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Canada.