Expert: Denmark must be prepared for a Russian reaction over the Danish-Ukrainian agreement, according to DR
On Wednesday evening, the DR website published an article stating that the agreement between Denmark and Ukraine allowing Ukraine to produce weapons in Denmark is not very well received by Russia.
“An unprecedented decision: an attempt to transform the conflict into a full-scale clash between Russia and NATO.”
According to the source, Russia, in a written response to The Guardian from its ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, stated that Denmark was blindly following Ukraine “in an attempt to transform the conflict into a full-scale confrontation between Russia and NATO.” Denmark has allowed Ukrainian weapons production on its territory, beyond the reach of the Russian armed forces. Copenhagen has made no secret of the fact that weapons produced by Ukrainian companies in Denmark will be used in military operations in Ukraine against Russia.
The ambassador added that “this decision is unprecedented among NATO member states that claim not to be part of the conflict in Ukraine.”.
Denmark will invite Ukrainian companies to manufacture weapons in Denmark.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the Berlingske newspaper that over the next six months, they will set themselves the goal of inviting three to five Ukrainian companies to Denmark to begin production. These companies could, for example, be among those working on manufacturing drones. This could happen near the city of Odense, where Denmark has established a new drone center, according to the minister. He added: “I think we need to be ambitious. Just inviting one company is not enough,” DR quoted Berlingske as saying.
The DR channel's website stated that the channel attempted to conduct an interview with the Russian ambassador, but the embassy refused. One of the questions was whether Russia would consider these factories legitimate targets, but the ambassador also did not want to answer this question in writing, according to the source.
The agreement was signed at the end of June by Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umarov, with Denmark allocating 500 million kroner “to accelerate the establishment of the Ukrainian defense industry in Denmark.”.
“"We must be prepared to respond."”
According to Flemming Spilledsbøl, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies specializing in Russia, Russia will record the agreement and Denmark in Moscow's black book: “The Russians will certainly be aware of this and may act on it. We must be prepared because this will influence the Russian perspective, they will protest, and then they may try to influence the debate in Denmark on this matter,” he told P1 Orientering yesterday, according to DR.
The researcher believes we should be prepared for the possibility of more cyberattacks targeting Denmark, further attempts to sabotage critical infrastructure, and so on, as a result of the agreement. He stated, according to the source, “A lot is already happening. Cyberattacks have increased significantly since the 2022 invasion, and many of them target Danish companies and institutions. Russian reactions are rarely direct and straightforward. Therefore, we must be prepared for Russia to respond to the agreement in various ways. However, there have been previous examples of Russia recruiting individuals to carry out acts of sabotage,” the researcher added.
The expert cites what is believed to be a Russian sabotage attempt in Britain.
He cites an incident in the UK earlier this year, where British police say Russia recruited three men to set fire to a warehouse containing supplies and communications equipment that were to be sent to Ukraine: “When the Russians are under pressure, they resort to rather primitive methods such as physical sabotage,” according to DR.
