The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine have signed a number of implementation agreements with the Danish Ministry of Defence. They provide for a number of purchases from Ukrainian defence companies worth more than €500 million.
According to the MoD, the agreements totalled approximately EUR 535 million. At the same time, the Ministry of Strategic Industries reports that weapons will be purchased for $629 million (€588.7 million).
The documents finalise the agreements set out in the Letter of Intent signed in late September in Kyiv. The sources of funding are the governments of Denmark and Sweden and interest from frozen Russian assets.
According to the Ministry of Strategic Industries, Ukrainian arms and equipment manufacturers, both state-owned and private, will supply long-range drones, air defence systems, missiles and artillery pieces made in Ukraine by the end of 2024 to the Defence Forces as part of the agreements on Denmark's support for the Ukrainian defence industry worth DKK 4.2 billion (USD 629 million or EUR 588.7 million), which were previously allocated.
DKK 1.3 billion is money from the Danish state budget, and DKK 2.9 billion is interest on frozen Russian assets managed by Denmark on behalf of the EU.
"Denmark has long been one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine, and we will continue to do so. But if we want to support Ukraine in the long term, it is very important that we support the Ukrainian defence industry directly... At the same time, we are paving the way for more countries to contribute to the Ukrainian defence industry through the Danish model," said Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
"We appreciate that Denmark is setting an example in the development of Ukraine's defence sector. This will speed up the supply of necessary weapons to our military, while strengthening the Ukrainian economy in the face of Russian aggression," said Minister of Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin.
Thanks to the Danish model, which provides direct funding to manufacturers, Ukraine has already received €50 million. These funds were used to finance the production of Bohdan self-propelled artillery systems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.