26 countries pledged €1.5 billion to boost Ukraine’s military capabilities

On 11 August, at a donor conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, a group of 26 countries pledged more than €1.5 billion ($1.55 billion) of additional aid to support Ukraine in the war against Russia, according to Danish Defence Minister Morten Bødskov, Jyllands-Posten reported. Bødskov co-hosted the conference with his Ukrainian and British counterparts, Oleksii Reznikov and Ben Wallace. The money can, for example, go to weapons and training of Ukrainian soldiers. And that amount can continue to rise, asserted Morten Bødskov as a number of countries have also signaled their willingness to support Ukraine, but their representatives should first go home and discuss the issue in their parliaments.

Today's meeting in Copenhagen with Morten Bødskov & @BWallaceMP is a meeting of true friends. The partners emphasized their commitment to Ukraine and its struggle for freedom. Our joint efforts are not only about Ukraine, but about the future of Europe and the whole world. pic.twitter.com/xnKiE9WZpt

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) August 10, 2022

The parties to the donor conference will hold a follow-up virtual meeting in September, according to Jyllands-Posten. Update: Norway will train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK, according to Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, NRK reported. https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1557819647797387266 The Polish, Slovak, and Czech defense ministers signaled a willingness to expand the production of artillery systems, ammunition, and other military equipment for Ukraine, according to Danish Defence Minister Morten Bødskov. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the donations were “proof of the opposite” of what Russian President Putin would have bet would be true by now -- that Western governments “would have all got bored of the conflict and the international community would have gone off in different directions,” RFE/RL wrote.