Frederiksen’s comments come after the White House confirmed earlier this week that the U.S. would stop sending air defense missiles and some precision munitions to Ukraine, corroborating a report by POLITICO.
Denmark is one of Ukraine’s strongest backers, having contributed nearly €10 billion in military and civilian support since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, and Frederiksen has been one of the loudest voices in the EU calling to maintain the pressure on Russia.
“If there are any gaps [left by the U.S.], I personally believe that we should be willing to fill them,” she added.
Speaking minutes later at a separate press conference alongside Frederiksen and von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is counting on the “continuation of American support,” but noted there are some items — namely Patriot missiles that Ukraine uses to shoot down Russian drones and missiles — that Europe can’t immediately replace.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s planned Thursday conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said Moscow had failed to abide by the terms of a ceasefire and noted he would be speaking with Trump in the coming days.
Pressed on what kind of support the EU would be able to give Ukraine, the bloc’s top two officials — European Council President António Costa and von der Leyen — stressed that Brussels remains fully committed to backing Kyiv, and noted that EU countries had provided €24 billion in total military aid for Ukraine so far this year, including 2 million artillery shells.
While that amount is larger than the U.S. contribution, it is substantially less than what the U.S. and Europe were able to muster jointly before Washington wound down its aid to Kyiv.
