Denmark plans to create an investment fund to expand Ukraine’s military industry and accelerate production. This was stated by the head of the country’s Ministry of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, in a telephone interview with Bloomberg.
According to Poulsen, weapons production in Europe and the United States is “too slow” and Ukraine could arm itself much faster if it produced more military equipment at home. Producing weapons directly in Ukraine could reduce delivery times from several years to several months.
“In recent years we have taken many initiatives to expand the production of various military equipment. But in general, we are not as fast in the production of military equipment as in Ukraine.” – said the minister.
Denmark is already working to allocate funds directly to the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and is now exploring options to attract more capital, he noted.
In particular, the Danish government is exploring the possibility of creating a fund by the end of the year that will pool investments from the state and other parties to expand and improve Ukraine’s weapons production capabilities, Poulsen said. Investors, which may include pension funds and defense companies, will receive an ownership stake, access to information and the opportunity to form joint ventures with Ukrainian manufacturers.
Denmark has so far supported the Ukrainian military-industrial complex by reimbursing existing production costs, an approach that has attracted “great interest” from other allies, Poulsen said. According to him, in July the Danes financed the production of 18 Bogdan artillery pieces, which were delivered to the army just two months later.
In addition, Denmark is exploring the possibility of acquiring attack drones, anti-tank systems and missiles.
According to Poulsen, production in Ukraine is not only faster, but also cheaper and the equipment is easier to maintain and repair. Despite its potential, there is “a lot of untapped capacity” in the industry due to lack of funding, he added.
The Danish Minister of Defense stressed that cooperation with the Ukrainian military-industrial complex is also an opportunity for European arms companies to have a lot to learn;
“We are facing a historic rearmament of the Danish and European defense. We will see that many jobs will be created in the European defense industry,” he concluded.
