Danish premier urges increased military support for Ukraine

ISTANBUL

The Danish prime minister is set to push for increased military support for Ukraine at Monday's European leaders summit in Paris.

The meeting will bring together leaders from Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands, heads of the European Council and European Commission, and NATO’s secretary-general. They will discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and European security amid shifting US priorities.

Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, who will represent the Nordic and Baltic countries, is set to advocate for a robust and urgent increase in military support for Ukraine.

"We must increase military support for Ukraine, we must produce more, and we must do it faster. And then we must remove the restrictions on the Ukrainians' use of weapons so that they can actually defend themselves against the Russians without having one arm twisted behind their back," Frederiksen said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

"A ceasefire must not lead to Russian rearmament,” she said, warning that rearmament would be followed by “new Russian attacks.”

Frederiksen praised French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to organize the emergency meeting, voicing confidence that it would foster renewed European resolve in addressing the Ukraine crisis.

The talks come after US President Donald Trump discussed the Ukraine war with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, catching Kyiv and its allies off guard.

Washington has also warned NATO that Europe will no longer be its top security priority as it shifts its focus to China.