Denmark will send Kyiv its entire ammunition stockpile, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced.
It will become the first country to take such a step and calls on other European countries to help Ukraine. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, Frederiksen said:
They [the Ukrainians] are asking us for ammunition now. Artillery now. From the Danish side, we decided to donate our entire artillery.
Frederiksen emphasised that EU leaders often cite production problems as an obstacle to increasing supply. She added:
Sorry to say, friends, there is still military equipment in stock in Europe. It is not only a question about production because we have weapons, we have ammunition, we have air defence systems that we don’t have to use ourselves at the moment – that must be handed over to Ukraine.
The Danish decision comes as the EU has admitted recently that the bloc will not be able to deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine in time for March.
Last month, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell told reporters that Ukraine would receive about 524,000 shells by the original deadline, which is about 52 per cent of the target.
The Danish statement came as Ukrainian forces retreated from the key eastern city of Avdiivka over the weekend.
So far, Copenhagen has pledged 8.4 billion euros in military aid. According to the Kiel Institute, Denmark’s military aid pledges have increased by 3.5 billion euros since November, making it one of the several largest military donors as a percentage of GDP.
