On 19 May 2023, during an official visit to the Kingdom of Denmark, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with Speaker of the Folketing of Denmark Søren Gade and the Presidium of the Folketing.

This is reported by the Administration of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

They discussed the increasing defence support, in particular, the supply of weapons, fair punishment of Russia for crimes committed, as well as Ukraine′s path to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to the Kingdom of Denmark for the comprehensive military, financial and humanitarian assistance provided.

“The main thing that Ukraine needs today is weapons,” Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasized adding that Danish weapons have already demonstrated great effectiveness on the battlefield in Ukraine.

“The most important are F-16 jets! Modern fighters such as the F-16 will help to ensure a change in the rules on the battlefield and the course of the war fundamentally,” he noted calling on Denmark to join the formation of an aviation coalition.

“On 30 September 2022, Ukraine submitted its application to join NATO in an expedited manner and we really hope that the open door policy will be open for Ukraine as well,” noted the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, – “it is extremely important for Ukraine to hear in July in Vilnius modality, logistics and time frame for Ukraine′s accession to NATO.”

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine thanked Denmark for its clear position in granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for joining the European Union. He noted that by the end of last year, the Parliament of Ukraine had adopted all the necessary laws contained in seven recommendations provided by the European Commission. “We hope that by the end of this year Ukraine will be able to receive assurances to open negotiations on full membership in the European Union,” Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasized.

He also invited Denmark to join and take leadership over one of the points of the Peace Formula proposed by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

For his part, Speaker of the Folketing Søren Gade noted that it is necessary to create a group to support Ukraine in the matter of its integration into the European Union assuring that Denmark will help along this path.

“Countries must stand together in support to protect themselves from people like Putin. There must be a majority to support Ukraine on its way to the EU and NATO,” Søren Gade emphasized. He also stressed that fair justice must be done against Moscow and the Kremlin, and assured Ukraine of further support even after the war.

During the meeting, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine left an entry in the Book of Honoured Guests.

Photos: Press Service of the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine