Russia’s embassy in Denmark has denounced a Danish military plan to send troops to Ukraine for drone training, warning it could jeopardize current efforts toward finding a political and diplomatic resolution to its war in Ukraine.
It also warned that Danish soldiers engaging in military activity in Ukraine would be viewed as another Western provocation that could make its forces “legitimate targets.”
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The strong reaction followed comments by Maj. Gen. Peter Boysen, Chief of Staff of the Danish Armed Forces, who told public broadcaster TV2 in an interview aired Wednesday that Denmark is considering sending small, unarmed teams of soldiers to Ukraine for short training sessions to observe the tactics of the Ukrainian armed forces in the use of combat drones.
“Sending Danish military personnel to Ukraine, among other things to study combat experience, draws Denmark deeper and deeper into the conflict in Ukraine and provokes a further uncontrolled escalation,” Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin wrote in an email to Danish broadcaster TV2.
Barbin warned that any Western military activity in Ukraine – including by unarmed personnel – risks Russian retaliation.
“Military facilities, including headquarters, training and education centers, as well as locations of military personnel and military equipment, both deep inside Ukrainian territory and on the front line, are a legitimate target for the Russian armed forces,” the embassy said.
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Maj. Gen. Boysen was speaking in Denmark’s Varde Barracks in southwestern Jutland, home to its Army Intelligence Center and NCO School. Verde has become the center for passing on lessons learnt from the war in Ukraine, particularly those relating to Kyiv’s experience of three years of drone warfare – a result of his own two recent visits to Ukraine and the acquisition of almost 100 first-person view attack drones similar to those Ukraine is using to such good effect on the front line.
His view of the development of military drone technology and tactics is encapsulated in his comment to the broadcaster: “In the 42 years I have been in the Armed Forces, I have not experienced things moving as fast as they are right now – speed is a mindset.”
Speed is the basis of his intention to send his military to Ukraine – to speed up the process of learning and acquiring the skills to operate drones on the battlefield.
Although Boysen put no figures on how many troops would go to Ukraine or how many training courses would be carried out, he said the plan is for both instructors and future operators for periods of one to two weeks, possibly as soon as this summer.
“We’re sending some teams down to see what experiences the Ukrainians have had – firsthand. So those who will operate drones on a daily basis, and not just me, come down and get that experience,’ he said. He then added that “attack drones account for over 70% of Ukrainian kills against Russian forces.”
The Danish Ministry of Defence felt moved to comment on Boysen’s Wednesday’s statements to TV 2. It said it was important to emphasize that the plan being considered did not “concern Danish Armed Forces personnel participating in the training or education of Ukrainian troops in Ukraine.
The focus from the Danish side is solely on gathering operational experience, where participating personnel learn from Ukrainian experiences on the battlefield.”
It added that it was not new for the Danish Armed Forces to deploy personnel to Ukraine for the purpose of gathering experience, which was initially limited to “personnel at the command level.” It also said that its forces “continually examine options to further increase the collection of relevant military experience,” before underlining that no final decision has been made in the participation of Danish soldiers in training activities in Ukraine it is just one measures being examined.
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