The Danish government plans to cut the amount of aid provided to Ukraine by almost half, according to Danish public broadcaster DR (Danmarks Radio).
“In response to a request from the Defense Committee, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that Denmark will provide 9.4 billion kroner next year. Last year, we provided 16.5 billion kroner, and the year before that, almost 19 billion kroner,” the report said.
Earlier, in 2023, a broad majority in the Danish parliament agreed to create the Ukraine Fund. This is an economic framework that determines how much aid Denmark will provide to Ukraine. To date, Denmark has provided Ukraine with more than 70 billion in military aid.
Denmark is currently the country that has provided Ukraine with the most support as a percentage of GDP. Therefore, according to Simon Kollerup, spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party on defense issues, it is “natural” that support is being reduced.
“We decided to be one of the countries that provided the most extensive support at the beginning of the war. I also think it is fair to say that this support is somewhat more than what one might expect given the size of our country. Therefore, I think it is quite natural that support is gradually decreasing,” he said.
Kollrup also noted that it has not yet been decided politically whether support will remain reduced, despite current decisions.
“I think we will allocate more money than is currently planned. Does this mean that we will necessarily be at the forefront, as we were before? I’m not sure,” he said.
He pointed out that politicians had long ago decided to create a model for the Ukraine Fund, where most of the billions were spent during the first three years of the war. And that the time will soon come for other countries to contribute to this fund.
“We are a small country with a healthy economy and a high capacity for decision-making, so we were actually able to find the funds in our economy to provide significant support at the beginning. But I also believe that there is room for other countries to come on the scene,” Kollrup explained.
In turn, Stinus Lindgren, defense spokesman for the Radical Left party, said that now is not the time to reduce support for Ukraine.
“The problem is that we haven’t allocated new funds for a long time. If we think it’s so important to support Ukraine, and I hear that all parties say so, then right now we need to sit down in parliament and make sure we have the money ready,” he said.
He clarified that he considers the amounts allocated in previous years to be sufficient.
“I believe that we should return to the level we were at in previous years,” he said.
Lindgren added that Ukrainians have been under intense pressure on the battlefield recently. The Kremlin claims that the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for a long time, has finally fallen into Russian hands.
“If you look at the situation in Ukraine right now, it is critical. Now is not the time to lower our ambitions. Neither in Denmark nor internationally,” he concluded.
