During his working visit to Denmark, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Queen Margrethe II and members of the royal family.
“Meeting with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and members of the royal family. The statements and actions of the Royal Family of Denmark in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people mean a lot to us. We appreciate the royal family’s personal support for the humanitarian efforts of Danish and international organizations operating in Ukraine,” he said in the Telegram channel.
The head of state also expressed gratitude to the Danish people, government and parliament for the powerful humanitarian, financial and military assistance to Ukraine.
“We will always be grateful for the support and mutual understanding that our struggle for life and freedom meets here,” the president said.
In particular, he noted the activities of Denmark within the Support Fund for Ukraine, aimed at restoring Ukrainian schools, hospitals, bomb shelters, water, heat and energy supply, etc.
According to Zelenskyy’s press service, he invited members of the royal family – Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary to support investment and humanitarian projects that Ukraine and Denmark are jointly implementing.
During the audience with the Queen, the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska was also present.
Friday, May 26, at the Ukrainian Investment Forum in Copenhagen, it was announced the launch of a Danish investment fund social program for Ukraine totaling DKK 1 billion, which is about $133 million, the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine reported.
“Denmark is one of the leaders in financial assistance to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion the total military support amounted to $1.4 billion and the total humanitarian aid, including macrofinancial assistance – $212 million. The Ukrainian government highly appreciates Danish support and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation and further involving Danish businesses in the reconstruction projects in Ukraine. Thus, special investment fund, created for Ukraine, will finance projects with the use of the best Danish technologies and innovative solutions and will be available for both public and private sectors”, – noted the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko.
As Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Griban noted, the main cooperation between Ukraine and Denmark is establishment of mutually beneficial relations, when Ukrainian companies not only import Danish products, but also localize the production of such products in Ukraine.
“We are interested in Danish technologies and we see big prospect in application and localization of Danish companies in Ukraine in priority branches. In particular, these are renewable energy, construction materials, technologies of municipal economy renovation as well as defense and dual-purpose technologies”, he said.
In addition, the forum announced funding approval of two pilot projects in the field of agriculture and agro-processing. The question is about the affected companies of the southern region – “Nibulon”, which will receive a credit of 25 mln Euros, and “Agrofusion” – 15 mln Euros. Also, loans will be granted to agricultural companies located near the front line in Mykolayiv, which will restore the destroyed production facilities, buying equipment from Danish exporters.
According to Griban, the Danish fund will not only provide financial guarantees, but will also directly carry out lending, which puts it on a separate level of financial institutions that have opened their programs for Ukraine. Also, the Danish government plans to significantly increase the limits and expand the financial assistance program for Ukraine.
“We don’t have to wait for the war to stop. We would like to attract Danish business in the early stages of Ukraine’s recovery. We must act and support the Ukrainian economy,” stressed Morten Bedskov, Minister of Entrepreneurship of Denmark.
The Danish government will create a DKK 7 billion ($1.01 billion) fund in 2023 for military, civilian and business assistance to Ukraine, the Danish government says.
“The situation in Ukraine is extremely serious, and the need for significant support is acute. Ukraine’s struggle for freedom is a struggle for democratic values and society. Therefore, the government has joined forces with an overwhelming majority in the Danish parliament to create a fund of about 7 billion DKK in 2023,” the Danish Finance Ministry said on its official website Wednesday.
In addition, funds are available for 2024-2027 to finance replacements related to military contributions made in 2022 and 2023, the statement clarified.
The fund will reportedly consist of three parts.
The first. Military support in the form of weapons, other military equipment and personnel training – about DKK 5.4 billion in 2023.
The second part. Civilian support aimed at acute humanitarian problems as well as long-term reconstruction – 1.2 billion DKK.
Third part. Support for business initiatives that enable Danish companies to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine – 0.4 billion DKK.
Commenting on the event, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said: “Ukrainians are fighting not only for their own freedom, but also for the security of Europe. With this fund, we bring Denmark’s support of Ukraine to a new level. Not least of all it concerns the business sphere. Danish companies can supply many of the things Ukraine lacks, such as drinking water, district heating and food”.
Reportedly, the Danish Foreign Ministry is going to multiply efforts “to help Danish companies enter the Ukrainian market and allocate more funds to create better conditions for risky investments by Danish companies in Ukraine. This is good news for both Ukrainian and Danish businesses”.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky thanked Denmark for the establishment of the Ukraine Support Fund.
“I am sincerely grateful to the Danish Parliament, Prime Minister and Government for the establishment of the Ukraine Support Fund. More than $1 billion for military, humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine is the key to bringing our common victory over the aggressor and the return of peace to Europe!” – he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Denmark, through Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), has directed about EUR4.5 million in additional financing, securing the delivery of new mobile containerized boilers to Ukraine, the NEFCO press service said.
“Denmark and Ukraine are very close partners, and it is good to see that our partnership can also provide support for critical heating infrastructure in eastern Ukraine. Supporting the operation of the heat supply system is critical to the sustainability and combat effectiveness of the country. In addition, it also has a positive impact on reducing CO2 emissions in Ukraine”, – Danish Ambassador to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen was quoted as saying.
In particular, according to him, the transferred 20 gas boilers with the capacity of 39 MW will provide central heating to more than 180 thousand people, which is 80% of the total population of the city where they will be installed. About 10% of the Ukrainians receiving assistance are internally displaced persons. The funded project will be able to provide about 30-40% of the needs of citizens in heating (the locality is not named for security reasons – IF).
Activities include installation of new boilers, laying of new pipes, preventive steps to prevent freezing of heating systems in winter and maintenance of systems to ensure their reliable continuous operation.
The new boilers will ensure more efficient heat production, consequently reducing gas consumption by some 1.70 million cubic meters per year. This will result in an annual CO2 reduction of almost 3,400 tons.
“We are very pleased to be able to continue our cooperation with the Danish Sustainable Infrastructure Finance Program Danida (DSIF) in this and other projects in Ukraine to support and green critical infrastructure. The importance of this support from Denmark cannot be underestimated and is much needed in these difficult times,” commented Nefco Investment Director Bo Nyhus.
Since 2021, NEFCO has been managing grant funds for the Danish DSIF funding program, which is funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Currently, three projects are ongoing despite the war. The goal is to create new projects and quickly rebuild infrastructure in the best quality over the next few years.
NEFCO is an international financial institution which finances the expansion of Nordic green solutions on world markets. It was founded in 1990 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
DSIF’s funding program is a tool within the Danish development cooperation Danida, funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. DSIF offers subsidized loans for sustainable infrastructure projects without access to commercial financing in 24 developing countries. DSIF is administered by the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Danish government and the Folketing (parliament) are donating an additional DKK300 million ($42.7 million) to a fund responsible for purchasing weapons and equipment for Ukraine, the Danish Defense Ministry said on its website Thursday.
“Ukraine’s fight for freedom is also ours and Europe’s fight for freedom. Therefore, the government together with the parties in the Danish parliament decided to donate an additional 300 million Danish kroner. kroner to Ukraine. The government will continue to support Ukrainians both financially, militarily and humanitarianly,” Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said.
According to the report, the Danish government held consultations in Folketinget on Thursday regarding the donation of about 300 million more kroner to strengthen support for Ukraine. The funds come from the National Compromise Reserve and are to be transferred to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), an international initiative that emerged at a donation conference in Copenhagen in August.
“On Monday, I had the honor of meeting with President Zelensky virtually, where he stressed the continuing need for support from the outside world. That’s why I’m glad that Denmark can make another major contribution to Ukraine’s fight for freedom,” Ellemann-Jensen said.
Official rate of the NBU as of December 22: 5.21 UAH/DKK; 36.57 UAH/USD.
Denmark, through the EU civil protection mechanism, has offered Ukraine 35 excavators to restore damaged and critical infrastructure across the country, the European Commission has said.
“Destroyed by the war, Ukraine needs excavators to help rebuild damaged and critical infrastructure across the country. Denmark has offered 35 heavy machinery vehicles to Ukraine via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. First vehicles have already arrived via the EU hub in Poland,” the European Commission said on Twitter on Friday.
