Denmark will help rebuild Mykolaiv - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a joint briefing with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Odesa on January 30.

"I thank Denmark for its defense support that helps us provide our Ukrainian heroes on the battlefield with the necessary weapons and equipment. However, a lot still needs to be done to guarantee the complete fundamental security of the Mykolaiv region and to liberate the south of our country from the Russian occupiers. And today, our partners, in particular, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, saw with her own eyes what exactly we need. Once again, we are grateful that we are meeting today not in the capital, Kyiv, but in Mykolaiv and Odesa, in order to see with our own eyes all the details of the brazen war being waged by Russia," Zelensky said.

He also added: "Our meetings and our agreements also relate to the need to restore hundreds of different facilities in Mykolaiv and the region - residential buildings, economic, social and transport infrastructure destroyed after the Russian strikes. Today we also visited a drinking water supply facility that was supported by Denmark."

He noted that Denmark was one of the first partner countries to accept Ukraine's proposal to take patronage over the reconstruction of the city of Mykolaiv. He also thanked the coalition government of Denmark "for creating a separate fund to help our state."

"One of the key areas of work should be reconstruction itself," Zelensky said. "I believe that together we will be able to restore peace and return development to Mykolaiv and the entire region. We held quite meaningful talks in Odesa, which concern all key aspects of the interaction between our states. The first, of course, is defense, I thank Denmark for the substantial help in strengthening our artillery, in particular, for the decision to supply 19 Caesar howitzers, as well as the Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense for the decision to join our tank coalition. We also discussed the possibility of strengthening anti-aircraft and anti-ship defense in the south of our state."

The key issue is speed, and this applies to all our partners, Zelensky said.

Zelensky also awarded Frederiksen the Order of Princess Olga, 1st class.

Photo credit: Nina Liashonok