PM Mette Frederiksen said that Denmark and its partners should look into new avenues of strategy following the Kremlin’s escalation in Ukraine yesterday.
Aside from a ‘partial mobilisation’ and staged referendums in Ukrainian territory, Vladimir Putin also threatened to use nuclear weapons against those who would stand in his way.
“Ukraine has proven they can resist Russia aggression with our help. They can rest assured that we will continue to aid Ukraine along with our partners and allies. And we will never recognise Russia’s attempt to annex Ukrainian land via illegal ‘referendums’. It only proves Putin’s unscrupulous cynicism,” said Frederiksen.
“Putin’s repeated references to the use of nuclear weapons is completely unacceptable. No war can be won with nuclear weapons and we strongly condemn the use of these kinds of threats.”
READ ALSO: EU approves visa ban on Russian citizens
More sanctions in response
According to the foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, Denmark and the EU must respond to Putin’s actions with more potent sanctions.
Kofod was with Frederiksen at the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday and met with his EU ministerial colleagues to discuss options.
“We’ve agreed to distance ourselves and strongly condemn this escalation by Russia,” Kofod told TV2 News.
“But also to proceed with new sanctions against Russia as quickly as possible.”
Kofod said that sanctioning Russian oligarchs and the export of products that are critical to the Russian defence and economy are among the options being considered.
