Denmark plans to implement mandatory military service for women beginning in 2026, a year earlier than initially planned, according to Bloomberg.
The move aims to strengthen the country’s armed forces amid growing security threats from Russia.
Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced the decision on 25 March following broad parliamentary support for the measure, Bloomberg reports.
Currently, military service is only mandatory for Danish men if drafted, while women can volunteer to serve.
“This change reflects our commitment to both military readiness and gender equality in our defense forces,” Poulsen said.
The Danish Ministry of Defense simultaneously revealed plans to invest 12 billion kroner ($1.7 billion) in brigade development and potentially acquire two air-to-air refueling aircraft. Funding will come from the government’s Acceleration Fund, established in February specifically to increase defense spending in response to perceived Russian threats.
When implemented, Denmark will join Norway and Sweden as the only NATO countries with female conscription. Norway pioneered this approach in 2015, with Sweden following in 2017 when it reinstated its draft system.
Women in Ukrainian army
Ukraine continues to see increasing female participation in its military, especially as frontline casualties mount and draft-eligible men dwindle.
As of January 2025, over 70,000 women serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces—a 20% increase since 2022—with more than 5,500 deployed directly to front-line positions, despite the absence of formal mobilization of women.
Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, approximately 30,000 women served in the Armed Forces.
This growth is largely attributed to the removal of previous restrictions in 2018 that limited women’s roles to positions like medical specialists, signalmen, accountants, clerks, and cooks. Women are now eligible for a wide range of roles, including drone operator, driver, grenade launcher operator, deputy commander of a reconnaissance group, infantry fighting vehicle commander, repair technician, machine gunner, and sniper.
A Ukrainian report by Texty.org.ua from March 2024 highlighted the necessity of mobilizing women to sustain the nation’s defense against Russia’s war of attrition. The analysis proposes that the mobilization reserve could be expanded by: 3 million women aged 18-60 without children, 273,000 men aged 25-26 currently exempt and 434,000 men aged 18-24, if the draft age is lowered.
Oksana Hryhorieva, recently appointed gender advisor to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, expressed opposition to female mobilization, stating there are still “enough men hiding behind [women’s] skirts.”
