Ukraine is making weapons ‘faster and cheaper’ than anywhere else in Europe — and that’s a problem, Danish PM warns

• Ukraine could make weaponry “quicker and cheaper” than elsewhere in Europe, Denmark’s prime minister mentioned.

• “We’ve an issue, buddies, if a rustic at conflict can produce quicker than the remainder of us,” Mette Frederiksen mentioned on the Munich Safety Convention.

• Europe’s protection spending has soared lately, however issues stay.

Denmark’s prime minister has mentioned Ukraine is ready to produce weaponry “quicker and cheaper” than wherever else in Europe regardless of being at conflict, one thing she mentioned ought to alarm the West.

Talking on Saturday on the Munich Safety Convention, attended by Enterprise Insider, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that Europe should ramp up manufacturing efforts going ahead, working with the US to take action.

“We’ve an issue, buddies, if a rustic at conflict can produce quicker than the remainder of us,” she mentioned. “I am not saying we’re at wartime, however we can not say we’re at peacetime anymore. So, we have to change our mindset.”

Frederiksen added that Europe wanted “a way of urgency” and should scale back laws and paperwork to make sure Ukraine “will get what they want, but additionally to make sure that we’re capable of defend ourselves.”

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine has ramped up home arms manufacturing, producing growing numbers of home made merchandise equivalent to missiles, howitzers, and drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy beforehand mentioned that 30% of the navy tools Ukraine utilized in 2024 was domestically made.

Denmark has spearheaded a significant undertaking to make extra weaponry in Ukraine, giving Frederiksen a specific perception into Ukraine’s manufacturing efforts.

Whereas Frederiksen didn’t level to particular figures, Ukraine’s protection trade has boomed, matching and even outpacing Europe in some areas.

The widespread use of drones on the battlefield has seen Ukraine develop into a pacesetter in drone manufacturing, with Kyiv saying the nation produced greater than 1.5 million first-person-view drones in 2024.

Ukraine additionally mentioned it made 2.5 million mortar and artillery shells from January to November 2024, whereas the EU mentioned it could make round 2 million artillery shells in 2025.

Europe has considerably elevated protection spending and manufacturing lately, however some officers say far more must be executed.

Dovilė Šakalienė, the Lithuanian protection minister, informed Enterprise Insider in Munich that “Europe must up our protection spending very quick and really considerably to have the ability to stand on equal footing with the USA.”

Germany’s protection minister, Boris Pistorius, additionally addressed the difficulty over the weekend, saying, “The critics are proper that we now have to do extra and that we did too little within the years earlier than, a lot too little.”

Mark Rutte, NATO’s Secretary Basic, has additionally incessantly referred to as on European members of the alliance to spice up navy spending.

Talking in Munich, he mentioned the US was “proper” to assume “we now have to step up, we now have to spend extra.”

He added that each the US and Europe have been “not producing almost sufficient” and that Russia produces extra ammunition in three months than NATO does in a yr.

However Vice President JD Vance, additionally showing in Munich, appeared unmoved by Europe’s pledges, and used his speech to assault what he referred to as free speech violations in Europe. Vance mentioned it was “nice” that Europe was planning to spice up protection spending however that he was extra frightened concerning the menace to Europe from “inside” moderately than Russia.

For his half, Trump has lengthy referred to as for Europe to spend extra on protection, threatening to depart NATO if that didn’t occur and even suggesting earlier than he was re-elected that he would allow Russia to attack NATO members that don’t spend enough on defense.

Some nations have already taken large steps towards boosting spending. In 2024, Poland led the alliance in protection spending as a proportion of GDP, with Warsaw investing greater than 4% of its financial output in protection.

Lithuania and Estonia have additionally each pledged to increase their own defense spending to 5% of GDP, saying that whereas they agreed with Trump’s calls for, they weren’t taking that step solely due to the president however due to Russia’s menace.

However the way forward for the US-Europe alliance seems in danger over extra than simply protection spending. Trump’s staff in latest days prompt Europe might be sidelined in negotiations between Russia and the US on Ukraine and that it was “unrealistic” that Ukraine may get again all territory occupied by Russia.

Regardless of rising tensions, many leaders mentioned in Munich that there have been nonetheless alternatives to maintain working with the US to fight Moscow.

Kristrún Mjöll Frostadóttir, the prime minister of Iceland, mentioned that “it is simple to develop into very unfavorable” concerning the US-Europe relationship and referred to as the scenario “uncomfortable” as Ukraine’s sovereignty is at stake. However “that does not imply relations with the US should be dangerous,” she continued.

Šakalienė added that whereas Trump had “distinctive” and “sudden” negotiating techniques, that wasn’t essentially a unfavorable factor as “taking part in by the principles doesn’t work with Russia.”

As many different European officers mentioned over the weekend, the US additionally wants Europe and its capabilities as an ally, she went on.

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