Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has mocked US President Donald Trump’s ambitions to acquire Greenland, suggesting that the American leader would benefit from becoming “more Danish.”
Zelensky made the comments in an address to the Danish parliament on Wednesday, attended by a key backer, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Describing Denmark as a country “we can always count on,” Zelensky said he wished Ukraine had such a neighbor before taking a swipe at Trump’s longstanding interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
“When someone in the United States wanted to have Greenland, they were not even aware that what they really wanted was not the land but to become a little bit more Danish,” Zelensky said, without mentioning Trump by name.
“And who knows, maybe that was exactly what they needed,” he added.
Zelensky: Maybe when someone in America wanted Greenland, he didn't even realize that what he really wanted was not the land, but to become a little more Danish. And who knows, maybe that was exactly what he needed. https://t.co/1BdCLQaL24
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Greenland since returning to the White House last year, even threatening to annex the territory by force if necessary. He has argued that the Arctic island is vital to US national security and that its vast rare-earth mineral deposits could provide Washington with access to strategically important resources.
His remarks strained relations within NATO, provoked outrage in Copenhagen and prompted European members of the bloc to rally behind Denmark. The dispute was eventually settled under an agreement announced by the US, Denmark, and Greenland in September. Trump claimed at the time that the deal would give Washington “permanent control” over the territory’s security.
Denmark has taken a hawkish stance on Russia and has emerged as a major supplier of military aid to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. It joined Western coalitions that provided US-made F-16 fighter jets and German-made Leopard 1 tanks. Copenhagen also donated its entire fleet of 19 Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
Frederiksen was among those who supported Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russia and urged other Western nations to provide Ukraine with missiles suitable for the task. She also criticized Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store for their phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that she was “very skeptical about this Norwegian-Finnish initiative” and accusing the two leaders of breaking ranks with the rest of the EU.
Copenhagen has also backed plans to produce rocket fuel on its territory for Fire Point, a Ukrainian arms manufacturer personally promoted by Zelensky. The company was allowed to bypass more than 20 environmental and planning regulations under a law reserved for significant military projects. Last month, the Danish government approved a 750 million kroner ($110 million) state-backed loan guarantee for Fire Point’s Danish subsidiary.
Fire Point has been linked to Timur Mindich, a longtime business associate of Zelensky often described as the Ukrainian leader’s “wallet.” Mindich fled Ukraine after being implicated in a major embezzlement scheme at the center of one of the country’s biggest corruption scandals.
Denmark was also embroiled in a separate Ukraine-related controversy last week, when it emerged that Copenhagen had paid roughly $10 million in taxpayer funds to a questionable company contracted to supply artillery ammunition to Kiev. Frederiksen subsequently pledged to recover the money.
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