Sweden, Denmark Pledge $290M to Boost Ukraine Air Defense
Sweden and Denmark announced Tuesday they were procuring air defense systems worth 2.6 billion kronor ($290 million) for Ukraine, as the war-torn country struggles to fend off massive Russian bombardments.
Sweden would contribute 2.1 billion kronor ($234 million) and Denmark the remainder to supply Ukraine with the TRIDON Mk2 mobile anti-aircraft artillery system, the two countries’ defense ministers told a press conference.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the donation would “strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capacity.”
“Which, unfortunately, has been under severe pressure in recent months,” he said, alongside his Swedish counterpart, Pal Jonson.
“This is a platform that can take out cruise missiles and can take out long-range strike drones and it’s a capability that the Ukrainians need due to the increase of the Russian long-range strike capabilities,” Jonson told AFP in Gothenburg.
Jonson stressed that it was a new system developed at a “record pace.”
“It’s been adapted to the lessons learned from the battlefield,” Jonson said.
The donation would be enough for Ukraine to create its own air defense battalion “if they so wished,” Jonson told reporters.
An AFP analysis on Monday found that Russia fired fewer drones and missiles in January compared to the month before, but still crippled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The most serious electricity, heating, and water outages of the nearly four-year war have pushed the country towards a humanitarian crisis.
