Denmark has been a significant partner supporting Ukraine in both deed and symbolic effort. Though it is a smaller country it has the second most GDP dedicated to the defeat of the Russian invaders in Ukraine. Denmark knows full well what Russian imperialism.
Military commitments
8.397bn € (Rank: 4)
2.313% of GDP (Rank: 2)
Humanitarian commitments
0.234bn € (Rank: 13)
0.065% of GDP (Rank: 10)
Financial commitments
0.128bn € (Rank: 16)
0.035% of GDP (Rank: 17)
BILATERAL COOPERATION BETWEEN UKRAINE AND DENMARK
POLITICAL DIALOGUE
1. Recognition of Ukraine: 31 December 1991.
2. Establishment of diplomatic relations: 12 February 1992.
3. Political Dialogue
The Ukrainian Embassy in Copenhagen was opened in 1995. The Danish Embassy in Kyiv has been operating since 1992. In addition, the Honorary Consulate of Ukraine in the city of Outrup was opened in 2020 and the Honorary Consulate of Denmark in the city of Mykolaiv in 2023.
The bilateral legal framework includes more than 70 agreements.
Denmark considers Ukraine as a large and important partner in the Eastern European region. Ukraine considers Denmark as one of the key partners in the region of Northern Europe, an active supporter of our state in the European Union.
The interests of Ukraine and Denmark coincide in many areas. This primarily concerns strengthening civil society, protecting human rights, creating conditions for attracting investments, improving energy efficiency, maintaining environmental balance, ensuring cyber resilience, etc.
This promotes an active political dialogue which takes place at the level of heads of state and government, speakers of parliaments and foreign ministers.
During the diplomatic relations, the President of Ukraine paid three visits to Denmark in 2007, 2017 and 2023. In addition, the President of Ukraine took part in the Ukraine-EU Summit held in Copenhagen in 2002 during the Danish EU presidency. Next Denmark’s presidency of the Council of the EU will be during July-December 2025.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine paid official visits to Denmark in 1999, 2009 and 2023. Speakers of the Folketing visited Ukraine in 2005, 2015 and 2016.
The Prime Minister of Ukraine paid a visit to Denmark in 2018, during which the heads of government of both countries opened the second international Ukraine Reform Conference. The Prime Minister of Denmark visited Ukraine in 2016, 2022 and 2023, and the Deputy Prime Minister – in 2008.
Members of the Danish Royal Family also visited Ukraine during numerous visits. In particular, HRH Crown Prince Frederick paid a private visit to Ukraine in 2003 and 2012, HRH Prince Joachim in 1992. Prince Joachim’s official visit to Ukraine took place in 2006, and Crown Prince Frederick’s in 2011.
Ukraine and Denmark are aspiring to establish strong ties also at the regional level. Since 1989, twinning relations have been maintained between the Ukrainian capital and the Danish city of Odense. In 2023, twinning was established between Copenhagen and Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Aalborg, Lviv and Aarhus, Nikopol and Kolling, as well as between Voznesensk and Ikast.
Denmark has traditionally built ties with Ukraine in line with the European Neighbourhood Policy. It actively lobbied for the establishment of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU and consistently supported the introduction of visa-free travel to the EU for citizens of Ukraine. Subsequently, Denmark supported granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership.
The main instrument of Danish support for the democratic development and reform of Ukraine currently remains the implementation of the Danish Neighbourhood Program (DANEP) aimed at financing projects in Ukraine to fight corruption, develop democracy and human rights, support civil society with special attention to youth, promote sustainable growth, green transition, energy independence, strengthening the labour market, etc.
Within the framework of DANEP, Denmark co-finances and leads the Anti-Corruption Initiative of the European Union in Ukraine (EUACI), which aims to strengthen the capacity of anti-corruption institutions, to assist anti-corruption civil society organizations, and to implement anti-corruption measures in territorial communities.
Another important Danish project financed under DANEP was the activity of the Ukrainian-Danish Energy Centre under the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine (2015-2021), which resulted in initiation of the Ukraine-Denmark Energy Partnership Program (UDEPP) for the period 2021-2026 aimed at implementing Danish energy solutions and technologies in the field of green energy, as well as transfer of Danish experience in modernization of district heating systems.
Ukraine and Denmark join forces in finding answers to global international challenges. The two countries build bilateral cooperation that promotes mutual interests and try to jointly influence the international agenda. In particular, both countries are determined to contribute to the implementation of the global UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Denmark demonstrates strong political support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine both at the bilateral level and in multilateral formats. Denmark strongly condemns Russia’s ongoing brutal, unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine which it considers a gross violation of the international law, an attack on the international rule-based order and democratic values.
Denmark actively supports the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia introduced in response to the attempted annexation of Crimea and Russia’s actions to destabilize Ukraine. As an EU member, Denmark has closed its airspace to Russian aircraft, has joined all EU sanctions packages against Russia and is lobbying for new tougher restrictions. Almost all big Danish business curtailed operations in Russia or completely withdrew from that country after the start of the full-scale war. Denmark also stopped accepting applications from Russian citizens for tourist visas.
4. Military-political relations
Copenhagen actively contributed to the adoption of a decision by the North Atlantic Council to grant Ukraine “Enhanced Opportunities Partner” status. Denmark supports Ukraine in order to improve the defence capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and reform the defence sector in accordance with NATO standards.
In 2009-2019, the Air Force of Ukraine performed tasks for Denmark in Northern Greenland. For many years, Danish military advisers shared valuable experience with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and facilitated the activities of the Canadian and British military training missions in Ukraine.
With the financial support of Denmark, Peace and Stabilization Program continues to be implemented in Ukraine, which, in particular, is aimed at improving the management and efficiency of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as achieving operational interoperability with NATO.
Denmark is also a contributor to four NATO Trust Funds in Ukraine.
The Danish Demining Group (DRC-DDG) trains sappers for the pyrotechnic units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine who carry out humanitarian demining operations.
After the start of the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Denmark has been actively participating in the supply of weapons to Ukraine. As of September 2023, twelve packages of weapons have been donated.
In 2022, the Donor Conference of Northern European Allies of Ukraine at the level of defence ministers was held in Copenhagen, which created the International Fund for Ukraine (administered by the United Kingdom). The funds are directed in particular to the air defence of large cities and critical infrastructure, stabilization of the front line, creation of conditions for counteroffensive operations, etc.
Denmark sent military instructors to the UK to train Ukrainian defenders as part of the “Operation Interflex” program, and also conducts training courses for Ukrainian military on its territory.
In March 2023, the Danish government established the Ukraine Fund which coordinates Denmark’s efforts aimed at long-term support of Ukraine in the military, humanitarian and economic spheres.
In addition, Denmark actively provides Ukraine with humanitarian aid and macro-financial support.
5. Trade and economic relations
Active political cooperation between two states creates the preconditions for the development of bilateral economic cooperation which has been steadily growing in recent years.
More than 300 Danish companies operate in various spheres of the economy of Ukraine.
In 2016-2021, trade between Ukraine and Denmark increased significantly. Before the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Denmark was one of the 50 largest trade partners of Ukraine, 43rd largest partner of Ukraine in trade in goods and 19th in trade in services. According to the Danish statistics, for 2022 the volume of bilateral foreign trade turnover amounted to 1,07 billion US dollars.
Key articles of export of Ukrainian goods to Denmark are as follows: textile products, furniture, clothing and accessories, iron and steel, wood products, electrical appliances.
The main articles of import of Danish goods: textile products, medical and pharmaceutical products, meat and offal, crude mineral oil and its products, vehicles, electrical appliances, machinery and equipment for industry, feed.
The total volume of direct investments from Denmark in the economy of Ukraine at the beginning of 2023 amounted to 452 million USD. Assets consist of direct investments of 325 million USD and portfolio investments of 127 million USD.
The main investment capital is invested in agriculture, forestry and fishing, processing industry, wholesale and retail trade and repair, professional, scientific and technical activities.
In April 2022, Denmark assumed a leading role in the reconstruction of Mykolaiv and is actively rebuilding the city’s infrastructure. In March 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was concluded regarding the establishment of a partnership between Mykolaiv, the Mykolaiv region and Denmark. The concept of the partnership between Denmark and Mykolaiv envisages establishing cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, good governance, shipping, transportation, urban planning, businesses development, green transition, youth and culture.
Ukrainian community in Denmark
Before the beginning of the Russian full-scale war, more than 16 thousand Ukrainians lived on the territory of Denmark. The estimated number of temporarily displaced Ukrainians who arrived in the country after the Russian invasion in February 2022 is up to 50 thousand people.
Several organizations of Ukrainians abroad are registered in Denmark, including “Lastivka”, “Klub Ukraina”, “Faino”, “Ukrainsk Sport Forening”, which in 2018 merged into the “Association of Ukrainians in Denmark” (Association af Ukrainerne i Danmark), which, in turn, became a member of the Ukrainian World Congress. The educational public organization “Danish-Ukrainian Society” (Dansk-Ukrainsk Selskab), founded in 1992, also operates in Copenhagen.
The volunteer union “Bevar Ukraine” carries out important activities to organize the collection and delivery of humanitarian aid for Ukrainian hospitals, orphanages, schools, hospices, homes for the elderly, etc.
There are nine Ukrainian Saturday schools in Denmark, which work towards popularizing and outreach of the Ukrainian language and literature.
The Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Denmark, together with the Association of Ukrainians of Denmark, implements cultural and humanitarian projects to promote Ukrainian traditions, culture, art and history. The “Days of Ukrainian Culture in Denmark” festival has become traditional, as well as joint events to celebrate memorable and important dates for Ukraine, celebration of state and religious holidays, thematic flash mobs, summer training camps for children from the combat zones, etc.
The establishment of the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House in Kyiv (in 2021) and the Ukrainian House in Denmark (in 2023) opened new perspectives for the development of people-to-people and cultural contacts between our countries. Numerous youth organizations and individual young activists from both countries unite around important initiatives and support each other.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is represented in Denmark by the Ukrainian Pastorate of the Holy Family of the Apostolic Exarchate in Germany and Scandinavia. Services are held on a permanent basis in the Copenhagen Saint Ansgar’s Church, as well as in the cities of Aalborg, Aarhus, Odense, Randers and Vejle.
- 25 million Danish Krone to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for necessities for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova [November 2022] [67]
- DKK 100 million worth of medicine and medical equipment requested by Ukraine (among others, anaesthesia, antibiotics, analgesic drugs and protective medical equipment), as well as 1,700 treatments against tetanus on 3 March 2022 requested via WHO.[68][69][70]
- 5 Ambulances from the Region of Southern Denmark[71]
- 1 mobile hospital.[72]
- DKK 50 million for medicines and medical equipment for Ukraine and neighboring countries.[73]
- 18 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulances with medical supplies to Kharkiv[74]
- 40,000 visors
- DKK 6,7 Million worth of face masks.
- A total of 1600,000 Smocks.
- DKK 7.2 Million Worth of gloves.
- 5000 FFP3 respirators.
- 11.4 million gloves [75]
- DKK 150 million for supporting the Ukrainian public sector, such as wages for teachers and medical staff.[68]
- DKK 252 million ($30 million) of economic support provided by Denmark via the World Bank on 1 October 2022.[76]
- DKK 265 million (€36 million) on 21 December 2022 for infrastructure repairs and basic humanitarian aid during the winter of 2022–23.[77]
- DKK400 million by Danish companies to rebuild Ukraine.[78]
- 1,000 generators, 50 systems for desalinating water, 50 pumps for water and central heating.[79][80]
- More than 40 tonnes of energy and water equipment including: 4 electrical transformers, relay protection, steel wire, water pumps, heat exchangers, and water tanks.[81]
- DKK1.2 billion towards civilian aid.[78]
- DKK 380 million for mine clearance, rehousing of internally displaced (including temporary housing units sent from Denmark), food security, clean water, securing access to schools for children, and similar things.[82]
- 98,600,000 Danish krone By danish civil societies [83]
- 15 vehicles to support disabled people who are survivors of gender based violence [May 2023] [84]
- 19 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets pledged 20 August 2023.[104]
- 4 AGM-84 Harpoon Coastal Defence Missile Systems [June 2022].
- 19 155mm Caesar 8x8s [April 2023].
- 16 155mm ShKH Zuzana 2s [To be delivered] (In cooperation with Germany and Norway).
- 40 (Out Of 80) Leopard 1A5 DKs [To be delivered in 2023] (In cooperation with Germany).[105][106]
- Unspecified number of Leopard 1A5s [To be delivered in 2024] (In cooperation with Germany and the Netherlands).
- 7 (Out Of 14) Leopard 2A4s [To be delivered in 2024] (In cooperation with the Netherlands).
- 54 M113G3DK/G4DKs [July and August 2022] (M113s taken from Danish stocks and subsequently overhauled with German funding).
- Pansret Broslagningsvogn Biber bridgelayers [2023].
- PNINK Wisent 1 armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs) [2023].
- Hydrema 910 mine clearing vehicles [2022/2023].
- Minerydningsslange M/97 man-portable mine clearing charges [Before April 2023].
- Mine flails [2022].
- 21 bomb disposal robots [2022].
- Mobile field bridges [2022/2023].
- 2 Toyota Land Cruisers [2022/2023].
- Heavy mortars [2022].
- 407 Stinger missiles [2022] (Delivered along with 330 grip stocks and 810 batteries).
- 25 Sky-Watch Heidruns [April 2022].
- Mine-detecting underwater vehicles [2022/2023].
- Anti-drone radars [2022/2023].
- 2,700 M72 LAWs [2022].
- 8,000 RPG-7 rocket launchers [2022/2023] (Bought from a third country and delivered to Ukraine).[107]
- Pansermine M/56 anti-tank mines [Before February 2023].
- 54 M2 heavy machine guns [July and August 2022] (For M113G3DK/G4DK APCs).
- 5.56mm ammunition (For small arms) [2022].
- 5,600 rounds for the 84mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle [Late 2022 or early 2023].
- 120mm BGR M/50 mortar rounds [Before August 2022].
- 19,000+ 155mm artillery rounds for the Caesar self-propelled howitzers [2022 and 2023] (In cooperation with Norway)*
- Propellant charges (For the M109) [2022/2023].
- 29,000 rounds of RPG-7 ammunition [2022/2023] (Bought from a third country and delivered to Ukraine).
- 500 hand grenades [June 2023].[108]
- Night-vision goggles [2022/2023].
- 500 lightweight CBRN protective suits [2022/2023].
- 3,000 protective vests [2022/2023].
- 2,000 Pieces of protective equipment [2022/2023].
- 300 sleeping bags [2022/2023].
- 3,000 sleeping mats [2022/2023].
- 232,500 Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) [2022/2023].
- 2,200 first aid bags [2022/2023].
- 11,000 compress dressings [2022/2023].
- 15,000 sets of rainwear [2022/2023].
- 8,000 hats [2022/2023].
- 5,000 heat and release gloves [2022/2023].
- 15 mobile workshops for the repair of large vehicles [2022/2023].
- Spare parts for M109 SPG [2022/2023].
- 1 field hospital [2022/2023].
- 1 tent camp for 320 people [2022/2023].
- 6 hangar tents [2022/2023].
- 96 living containers [2022/2023].
- 15 military hardened generators [2022/2023].
- 12 electric generators [2022/2023].
- 3 radio transmitters (AM) [2022/2023].
- 4 fire extinguishing modules [2022/2023].
- 2 breach packs [2022/2023].
- 20 heat torches [2022/2023].
- 10 hand-held chemical detectors [2022/2023].
- Medical equipment [2022/2023].
- Fuel [2022/2023].
- Pre-war training of Ukrainian military since 2016 (as part of British led Operation Orbital).[109][110]
- The Danish government declared on 10 August 2022 that it would deploy 130 military instructors to assist with the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the UK.[111][112] Shortly after, it was announced that Ukrainian military personnel also were being trained in Denmark and the first completed it in the fall of 2022.[113]
- Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighterjets [To be delivered]>[114]
- Extra funding for the EU’s program purchasing equipment and supplies for Ukraine’s military.[115]
- Military donations worth DKK 4.2 billion (€565 million) from February 2022 to January 2023,[116] of which only some details have been provided,[117][118] but including:
- DKK 300 million (€40 million) to the UK led military equipment for Ukraine fund on 21 December 2022.[119][120]
- DKK 7 billion (€940 million) to a Danish fund set up in 2023 to aid Ukraine’s military sector, among other sectors.[121]
- DKK 17.9 billion (€2.4 billion) in 2023 and 2024 additionally added to the Danish fund set up to aid Ukraine’s military sector.[122][123]
- €50 million for NATO fund for purchase of non-lethal equipment.[124]