Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters the decision would create a ‘credible deterrence’ against Russia.By News AgenciesPublished On 18 Sep 202518 Sep 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareDenmark will acquire long-range, high-precision weapons for the first time in an effort to deter Russia, its prime minister has said.In a firm rebuke of Moscow, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told journalists Wednesday that Russia would constitute a threat to Denmark for “years to come” even if there is no imminent danger of an attack.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“With these weapons, the defence forces will be able to hit targets at long range and, for example, neutralise enemy missile threats,” she said, adding that the decision represented a “paradigm shift in Danish defence policy”.Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the government would seek to build up missiles and drones, but did not specify which weapons.The announcement came after Denmark’s largest arms purchase ever last week, amounting to 58 billion Danish crowns ($9.2bn), of European-made air defence systems. In February, Frederiksen urged the military to “buy, buy, buy” when moving ahead with a 50 billion crown ($7.9bn) expansion of military spending over the next two years – a dramatic reversal after decades of cuts.It was not immediately clear on Wednesday how much Denmark planned to spend on the long-range weapons.Apart from Russia, Frederiksen has also been outspoken against United States President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he wants to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.Last month, Denmark summoned the US’s charge d’affaires in Denmark after a public broadcaster published a report that three US citizens had covertly tried to shift Greenlanders’ opinions against Denmark. Advertisement “Any interference in internal affairs in the kingdom of Denmark and Greenlandic democracy is unacceptable,” Frederiksen said at the time, emphasising that “the Americans have not clearly rejected” the report.Billions head to Ukraine from PURLUkraine is meanwhile hoping to receive a major boost to its weapons supply through the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, a new mechanism that allows NATO states to finance the transfer of US-sourced we …
