Denmark to cut aid to Ukraine in 2026
The Danish government plans to nearly halve the amount of assistance it will provide to Ukraine next year, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR, Danmarks Radio) reported.
"In a response to an inquiry from the Defense Committee, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated that next year Denmark will provide DKK 9.4 billion. Last year we provided DKK 16.5 billion, and the year before that almost DKK 19 billion," the report said.
In 2023, a broad parliamentary majority agreed to create the Ukraine Fund, a financial framework defining Denmark’s support for Ukraine. To date, Denmark has provided more than DKK 70 billion in military aid.
Denmark currently ranks as the country providing Ukraine with the largest support relative to GDP. Therefore, according to Social Democratic defense spokesperson Simon Kollerup, it is "natural" for support to decrease.
"We decided to be one of the countries that provided the most extensive support at the beginning of the war. I also think it’s fair to say that this support somewhat exceeds what might be expected given the size of our country. That’s why I consider it quite natural for the support to gradually decrease," he said.
Kollerup also noted that it has not been politically decided whether support will remain reduced despite the current plans.
"I think we will allocate more funding than reflected in the current profile. Whether that means we will necessarily remain in the lead, as we were earlier, I’m not sure," he added.
He pointed out that politicians had long ago agreed to structure the Ukraine Fund so that most of the billions would be spent during the first three years of the war, and that the time is coming for other countries to contribute as well.
"We are a small country with a strong economy and high decision-making capacity, so we were essentially able to find the resources to provide significant support early on. But I also believe there is room for other countries to step up," Kollerup explained.
Meanwhile, Stinus Lindgreen, defense spokesperson for the Radical Left Party, argued that now is not the time to reduce aid to Ukraine.
"The problem is that we have not allocated new funds for a long time. If we believe that supporting Ukraine is so important, and I hear all parties saying so, then right now we need to sit down in Parliament and ensure the funding is in place," he said.
He clarified that he considers the amounts allocated in previous years to be sufficient.
"I believe we should return to the level we had in previous years," he stated.
Lindgreen added that Ukraine is currently under tremendous pressure on the battlefield. The Kremlin claims that the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, the focus of fierce battles for a long time, has now fully come under Russian control.
"If you look at the situation in Ukraine right now, it is critical. This is not the time to lower ambitions, neither in Denmark nor internationally," he concluded.