Denmark ready to empty all its ammo stockpiles for Ukraine: Danish PM
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Denmark's Prime Minister has pledged her country's entire ammunition stockpile to Kiev, urging others to do so.
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, speaks to the media as German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, background center, looks on, during their visit to a production line at the future site of an arms factory where weapons maker Rheinmetall plans to produce artillery shells from 2025, in Unterluess, Germany, February 12, 2024. (AP)
Denmark will transfer its entire ammunition stock to Ukraine, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, calling on other European Union (EU) countries to follow suit.
The Danish Prime Minister urged EU nations that are not using their stockpiles at the moment to transfer them to Kiev.
"If you ask the Ukrainians, they are asking us for ammunition now, artillery now. From the Danish side, we decided to donate our entire artillery and I am sorry to say, friends, but there are still ammunition in stock in Europe," Frederiksen said.
"This is not only a question about production because we have weapons, we have ammunitions, we have air defense that we do not have to use ourselves at the moment that we should deliver to Ukraine," the Danish Prime Minister stressed at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Frederiksen's pledge to Volodymyr Zelensky's government comes after the Russian Armed Forces drove out the Ukrainian military from Avdiivka in Donetsk. Avdiivka hosts the largest-producing Coke and Chemical Plant in the region and a hotspot for attacks on civilian populated areas in Donetsk.
Ukrainian forces were incapable of holding their positions in Avdiivka, despite non-stop Western backing. Importantly, Russia's accession of Avdiivka comes against the backdrop of a large-scale counteroffensive launched by Kiev in the summer of 2023, which resulted in no material gains for Zelensky's government.
Read more: Italian FM: Ukrainian joining NATO is 'dangerous for everybody'
Putin congratulates the Russian military
Earlier on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the military's capture of Avdiivka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as an "important victory".
"The President congratulated our military and fighters on such an important victory, on such a success," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state news agencies.
Avdiivka was a "powerful defensive hub" for Ukraine's armed forces and its capture would "move the front line away from Donetsk," reducing Ukraine's ability to shell the Russian territory, the Defense Ministry said. The losses of Ukrainian troops in the battle for Avdiivka amounted to over 1,500 troops over the past 24 hours, the Ministry also highlighted.
Kiev had earlier announced the withdrawal of its forces from the town, which it said was taken to reduce military casualties at a time of stretched resources. The artillery shells that Denmark looks to transfer to Ukraine have proven essential for the country's military strategy amid its failure to push back against Russian forces. The 155mm shell has recently seen a shoot in demand due to its high use among NATO and NATO-allied countries such as Ukraine and "Israel" which continues to shell the Gaza Strip and South Lebanon.
Read more: Ukraine ammo shortage aiding Putin: Zelensky
