Mette Frederiksen told a NATO assembly on Monday that the West must “expand and deepen” its support for Kiev
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) at the Chancellery on July 11, 2019 in Berlin, Germany © Getty Images / Omer Messinger/Getty Images
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called on members of the NATO bloc to “expand and deepen” their commitment to Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Moscow, and warned that the West must dismiss any suggestions of “war fatigue” as the situation grinds on.
“We must be with Ukraine to the bitter end. As long as the Ukrainians are ready to fight this war for our freedom, let us decide that war fatigue will not take place in our transatlantic community,” Frederiksen said at the NATO parliamentary assembly’s annual session in Copenhagen on Monday.
Frederiksen, the leader of Denmark’s ruling Social Democrats party, added that her government was working to “expand and deepen” the coalition of countries that have committed to supplying Kiev with F-16 fighter jets to counter Russia’s air superiority.
Denmark, along with the Netherlands, has led a drive to assist in the training of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets, as well as committing to deliver fighter aircraft to Ukraine. In August, Norway also pledged to supply F-16s to Ukraine. Eleven other countries, including the United States, have said they will help provide training to Ukrainian pilots.
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“Brave Ukrainian men and women are fighting on the battlefield,” Frederiksen said. “They are the face of right against wrong, of good against evil,” adding that Ukrainian soldiers “are fighting with our weapons, our missiles, and soon Ukraine will also fly our F-16s.”
The Danish PM also said at the NATO assembly that the bloc must coordinate better with the European Union in their efforts to procure and supply weapons and ammunition to aid Kiev’s sluggish counteroffensive.
“NATO is the cornerstone of our collective security,” Frederiksen said, “but at the same time we have to do more in Europe. It starts and ends with NATO, but inside Europe and inside the European Union we must do more.”
Frederiksen’s comments come amid suggestions, particularly among some sections of Republican lawmakers in the United States, that enthusiasm for blank-check spending on Ukrainian military aid is waning.
Late last month, a costly and disruptive shutdown of the US federal government was averted at the eleventh hour as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies operational until mid-November. The package dropped the provision of increased aid to Ukraine, a key White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP hardliners.
