TheCopenhagenPost
September 6th, 2023

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Mette Frederiksen at the opening of Parliament (photo: Screenshot)

There seems to be good chemistry between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Two weeks ago, Zelenskyy spoke to the Danish parliament in Copenhagen. Today, Frederiksen spoke to the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv.

At a press conference with the two, Zelenskyy describes it as a “very important visit”.

“I very much appreciate the relationship between our two countries,” says Zelenskyj.

He points to the cooperation in training Ukrainian F-16 pilots and in clearing mines in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy speech: “We will sit together and say skål”

Mette Frederiksen received a warm welcome in the parliament and returned the compliment.

“You are moving closer to the EU and NATO. I am really deeply impressed, and Denmark will support you all the way,” said the prime minister in her speech.

Third visit to Ukraine

She began her visit to the Ukrainian capital by laying flowers at a memorial to hundreds of victims in the Kyiv suburb of Butja.

The city was the scene of a massacre in the first weeks of the war in the spring of 2022.

Mette Frederiksen received an invitation from President Zelenskyj when he was visiting Denmark in August. Wednesday’s visit is her third to Ukraine.

The Danish prime minister brought an extra 300 million kroner, which will go towards reconstruction, humanitarian aid and other things.

“From the start of this war, I have had a desire for Denmark to be at the very front. We have to be that in many different ways,” she said.

Mette Frederiksen describes her visit as one that is about several things.

“We have Danish companies that have stayed in the country when other companies left Ukraine, and I think that we have established a strong bond between Denmark and Ukraine. We need that in the coming years as well,” Frederiksen said.

More on the Prime Minister’s visit to Kyiv here