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After Denmark recognized Ukraine's independence in January 1992, bilateral relations initially developed rather slowly. Denmark paid more attention to its positioning in the process of European integration. The ratification of the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union was complicated. In June 1993, the criteria for membership in the EU were defined in Copenhagen, compliance with which is a prerequisite for joining the European Union (Copenhagen criteria). At that time, Ukraine did not meet these principles regarding the rule of law, the competitiveness of the national economy, the implementation of European law into the norms of national legislation, and the existence of a stable representative democracy. After the Orange Revolution of 2004, the Danes saw the reform potential in Ukraine, but cooperation between the states did not reach a high level of intensity immediately.
In March 2009, the Air Force of the United States, Denmark, and Ukraine jointly for the first time transferred from the American Thule Air Base to the Danish military-scientific station Nord at a distance of 1000 km (both are located in Greenland) approx. 140,000 gallons of fuel and 17 tons of supplies. On February 18, 2010, the ministries of defense of Ukraine and the Kingdom of Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding during the joint military transport operation "Northern Falcon - 2010" to transport fuel to the territory of Greenland. Meanwhile, on May 17, 2010, Denmark reached an agreement with Canada on cooperation in the Arctic and the division of the disputed Arctic island of Hansa, thus increasing the length of the land border between the countries.
On June 10, 2010, by order of one of the leading freight forwarding and logistics companies, GEODIS WILSON A/S, the Ukrainian An-225 "Mriya" aircraft transported the longest cargo in the history of air transportation - two windmill blades (each 42.1 m long) from China (Shijiazhuang airport) to Denmark (Vojens/Skrydstrup airport).
In September 2010, a Danish parliamentary delegation visited Ukraine. There is no practice of forming friendship groups in Folketing Denmark. Danish parliamentarians prefer the development of interparliamentary cooperation at the level of relevant committees and within the framework of interparliamentary forums. In April 2011, Ukrainian military pilots fulfilled another Danish order and delivered 57.5 tons of cargo at minus 40 degrees to the Nord station in Greenland.
On September 15, 2011, parliamentary elections were held in Denmark. The Social Democrats won. For the first time, their leader, a woman, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, became prime minister. At the end of October 2011, Ukrainian-Danish consultations at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs took place in Kyiv.
From January 1 to June 30, 2012, Denmark presided over the European Union. Denmark celebrated the 40th anniversary of Queen Margrethe II's stay on the throne. On May 8, 2012, Ukrainian transport aviation transported 500,000 liters of fuel to Greenland under a contract with Denmark. On November 20, 2012, Ukrainian-Danish consultations on investment issues took place in Kyiv. At that time, the Danish government financed a program to support farming and increase the added value of agricultural products in Ukraine. The Danish company "FLSmidth" signed a contract for the introduction of energy-saving and environmental protection technologies at the Ivano-Frankivsk Cement Plant. In June 2013, Danish farmers visited the Ternopil region, where they were going to grow organic products, because the rent of land in Denmark is 25,000 euros per year - on the other hand, it is ten times cheaper in Ukraine.
Russian aggression against Ukraine in February 2014 forced Denmark to reconsider its relations with the Russian Federation. Especially since Denmark has its own territorial disputes with Russia in the Arctic. This factor determined the awareness in Copenhagen of the importance of restraining Russian military actions. Despite the change of power in Kyiv, Ukraine continued to consistently fulfill its obligations to Denmark. On March 13-20, 2014, the Ukrainian military transport aviation delivered cargo of the Danish army to Greenland as part of the operation "Northern Falcon - 2014". On December 18, 2014, Denmark ratified the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.
Since the first year of the Russian-Ukrainian war in Donbas, Denmark has been participating in the assistance of NATO countries to Kyiv. Later, after 2015, Denmark joined the British government-funded training programs for the Ukrainian military according to British standards ("Orbital" and "Interflex" operations). Representatives of the Danish Armed Forces and Navy trained Ukrainian soldiers.
On June 21, 2015, the liberal-conservative party "Venstre" led by Lars Lücke Rasmussen won the parliamentary elections in Denmark. In September 2015, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark, Christian Jensen, visited Kramatorsk. Denmark has announced its intention to support forced migrants and independent media. In March 2016, the seminar "Supporting regional development policy in Ukraine" was held with the assistance of the "Local Government Denmark".
On April 19, 2016, the Prime Minister of Denmark L. Rasmussen visited Kyiv. Denmark expressed readiness to support the extension of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The importance of taking into account the Danish experience in the development of the agricultural sector was emphasized. Denmark cultivates 2.6 million hectares of land and sells agricultural products worth 24 billion euros. Ukraine cultivates 26 million hectares, but sells agricultural products worth only 14.6 billion euros. Days of Ukrainian culture were held in Denmark on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Ukraine's independence on August 24-26, 2016.
On January 30-31, 2017, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark Anders Samuelson visited Ukraine. Denmark declared its readiness to provide assistance to Ukraine in the fight against corruption. Luhansk region was visited by representatives of the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Mine Action Council. On April 5, 2017, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko visited Denmark. Negotiations were held with Prime Minister L. Rasmussen and Speaker of the Folketing Pia Kjersgaard. It was noted that Denmark contributes to 3 out of 8 targeted NATO aid projects to Ukraine. Denmark landfills 1% of its waste and recycles 99%. Ukraine is the opposite. In June 2018, Ukrainian military pilots took part in the "Danish Air show - 2018" events. Denmark, in the format of NATO, concluded an agreement with Ukraine on the use of heavy transport aircraft. The Danish company "Goodvalley Ukraine" started working in Prykarpattia, which is engaged in the development of pig farming. At the end of January 2019, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, A. Samuelson, announced the initiation of additional sanctions against Russia, if it does not return the captured Ukrainian military sailors in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018.
On June 5, 2019, according to the results of the parliamentary elections, the Danish leftists defeated the conservatives. Mette Frederiksen became the Prime Minister. In August 2019, Denmark rejected US President D. Trump's offer to buy Greenland. The US wanted to declare the Northern Sea Route near the borders of Russia "international waters". In October 2019, Denmark agreed to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in its territorial waters. The USA and Ukraine expressed dissatisfaction with this fact. On February 7, 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Jeppe Kofod visited Ukraine. The intention was declared to increase the turnover between the countries to one billion dollars in a year.
On April 8, 2021, the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, which opposes the development of uranium mines, won the parliamentary elections in Greenland. On May 14, 2021, US Secretary of State E. Blinken visited Copenhagen, expressing the two countries' common concern about the strengthening of the Russian military presence in the Arctic. On August 23, 2021, Denmark was represented at the "Crimean Platform" in Kyiv by Minister of Foreign Affairs E. Kofod.
After the escalation of the Russian war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Denmark joined the EU sanctions against Russia on February 27, 2022. Denmark transferred anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft defense equipment to Ukraine. On March 29, 2022, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in a video message to the Danish Parliament, called for support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. On April 5, 2022, Denmark expelled 15 Russian diplomats accused of subversion.
On April 21, 2022, the Prime Minister of Denmark M. Frederiksen visited Kyiv. Based on the results of negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership, the parties agreed to increase Danish aid to Ukraine to fight against Russian aggression. Denmark transferred modern types of artillery to Ukraine. M. Frederiksen stated that Denmark is in favor of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU accession.
On November 1, 2022, extraordinary parliamentary elections were held in Denmark. The reason was the destruction of minks in 2020 as alleged carriers of the coronavirus. Conservatives won. On January 30, 2023, the President of Ukraine V. Zelenskyi and the Prime Minister of Denmark M. Frederiksen visited Mykolaiv. Denmark joined the humanitarian mission in this front-line city.
On May 3, 2023, President Zelensky held talks with Prime Minister Frederiksen in Helsinki. Denmark has expressed readiness to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters. In addition, Denmark allocated EUR 2.6 billion in aid to Ukraine. On June 19, 2023, V. Zelensky had another telephone conversation with M. Frederiksen. The results of the visit of African peacekeepers to Kyiv were discussed. The importance of the Ukrainian peace plan was emphasized.
On June 23, 2023, consultations of diplomats of Ukraine, African countries, Brazil, India, and China regarding the Ukrainian peace plan took place in Copenhagen. Denmark has accelerated the transition to F-35 fighters in order to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine. On August 21, 2023, in Copenhagen, President Zelenskyy spoke before the Danish parliament expressing gratitude for the transfer of 19 F-16 fighter jets. On October 24, 2023, the President of Ukraine held talks with the Minister of Defense of Denmark, Trolls Lund Poulsen. Denmark has extended the period of stay of Ukrainian refugees until March 2025.
On January 14, 2024, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark left the throne and was succeeded by Frederik X. A landmark event was the signing of an agreement on cooperation between states in Lviv on February 23, 2024 by the President of Ukraine V. Zelenskyi and the Prime Minister of Denmark M. Frederiksen in the field of security for 10 years. Ukrainian pilots are already training on the F-16 in Denmark, and the planes themselves may appear at the front in the summer of 2024. It is also significant that, having transferred all of their 155 mm artillery to Ukraine, the Danes were completely left without the modern French Caesar artillery systems purchased only in 2017.
On June 13, 2024, as part of the work of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine in the Ramstein format, the Minister of Defense of our country Rustem Umerov met with his Danish colleague T. Poulsen. The result of the meeting was the signing of a memorandum on the purchase of weapons and equipment from Ukrainian manufacturers. "This is a big step, as Denmark has become the first foreign NATO country that will invest its funds in the production of weapons on the territory of Ukraine. This is a confirmation that the Ukrainian defense industry is ready to cooperate at the international level and is able to meet the highest standards," Umyerov said.
So, for more than three decades of Ukraine's independence, Ukrainian-Danish relations have evolved from cautious " test the waters" through economic and logistical cooperation to a full-fledged partnership. It should be added that primarily due to control over the Baltic Straits, Denmark is a strategically indispensable member of NATO and the EU from a security point of view, as well as an informal "Crown Alliance" - a group of Anglo-Saxon countries (the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) led by the British dynasty and focused on London of European monarchies (Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden). Therefore, Copenhagen's voice is very important in all these interstate associations vital for Kyiv.