Danish Prime Minister names red line that Putin crossed
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen (Getty Images)
Ukraine’s allies must stop hesitating in helping the country defend itself and allow the use of provided weaponry for strikes on Russian territory. The most critical red line that Putin crossed was the invasion of Ukraine, according to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
"My suggestion is, let us end the discussion about red lines," she said.
According to Frederiksen, "it has been a mistake during this war to have a public discussion about red lines" as it is "simply giving the Russians too good a card in their hands."
"There have been constant discussions about, 'Are we allowed to give this?' It would be really good to stop the delays there have been. And I think that the restrictions on the use of weapons should be lifted," the Danish Prime Minister said.
Frederiksen dismissed any assumptions that allowing Ukraine to use weapons provided by Western countries for long-range strikes against Russia would lead to escalation, dragging Kyiv's allies into the conflict.
"The most important red line has been crossed already. And that was when the Russians entered Ukraine," she said. "So I will not accept this premise, and I will never allow anyone from Russia to decide what is the right thing to do in NATO, in Europe or in Ukraine."
She emphasized that her priority at future UN meetings will be Ukraine and specifically noted to other leaders that they cannot ignore Vladimir Putin's broader ambitions.
"What we see now is a Russia that is getting closer to North Korea and to Iran. And I don’t think that Russia would be able to have a full-scale war inside Europe without help from China, unfortunately," she said. "So this is not a European conflict, this is a global conflict and the consequences have been extremely high."
Denmark’s aid and strikes on Russian territory
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Denmark is the world’s largest donor to Ukraine relative to the size of its economy. Since Russia’s invasion began, Denmark has allocated around 1.8% of its GDP to bilateral support.
Key Western nations, including the US, have so far refused to grant Ukraine the right to use Western-manufactured missiles to strike deep within Russian territory, fearing an escalation of the ongoing war.
In response, Ukraine has ramped up its use of combat drones for long-range strikes, aiming to diminish Moscow’s capabilities for aggression. According to Ukrainian sources, its forces have recently destroyed several large ammunition depots inside Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been urging allies to accelerate the delivery of weapons, and he is expected to continue these efforts when he meets US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week.
