Despite being at war, Ukraine can produce weapons “faster and cheaper” than anywhere else in Europe, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, criticizing the EU’s slow arms production, according to Business Insider.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on 15 February, Frederiksen said:
“We have a problem, friends, if a country at war can produce faster than the rest of us,” she said, adding that the EU needed to reduce legislation and bureaucracy to ensure Ukraine “will get what they need, but also to ensure that we are able to protect ourselves.”
Denmark has led a major initiative to boost Ukraine’s arms production, directly financing the country’s domestic manufacturing for its own military. This might have given Frederiksen unique insight into Ukraine’s defense industry and production efforts.
The Danish Prime Minister noted:
“I’m not saying we are at wartime, but we cannot say we are at peacetime anymore. So, we need to change our mindset.”
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told Business Insider that “Europe needs to up our defense spending very fast and very significantly to be able to stand on equal footing with the United States.”
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