Monday Morning News & Notes
Denmark helps upgrade Ukraine’s Air Force. New variant causes concern.
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Christmas has come early for Ukraine’s President as Denmark and the Netherlands have gifted his country with a massive upgrade of its Air Force.
The two countries revealed on Sunday that they have reached an agreement to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The news was announced at an event in the Netherlands by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his side.
According to Zelenskyy, the Netherlands will donate 42 F-16s to Ukraine. Later on Sunday after arriving in Denmark, alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Zelenskyy said that Denmark has agreed to donate 19 of the more modern fighter jets to Ukraine. That makes a total of 61 F-16s that will eventually wade into the battle in the skies above Ukraine.
Denmark currently has 43 F-16s in its aging fleet.
An ecstatic Zelenskyy thanked both countries for the F-16s.
“A powerful and very fruitful day. I thank Prime Minister Mark Rutte, his entire team, and the Dutch people for their decision on F-16s for Ukraine. Our warriors will receive 42 great combat aircraft. I also thank Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the entire country of Denmark, as well as each and every Dane who has Ukraine in their hearts, for their extremely practical assistance. 19 jets. Expanding the training mission. A powerful algorithm for cooperation with our partners.”
Zelenskyy also confirmed that Ukrainian pilots have begun the F-16 training program in Denmark.
“Very productive, focused, and concrete talks with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Our pilots and engineers have already begun their training in Denmark. We are working on the speed of preparations. During the talks we also discussed the possibility of expanding training missions, the algorithm is clear. Our F-16 coalition is proving its efficiency. Today, we took another step to strengthen Ukraine's air shield. These jets will be used to keep Russian terrorists away from Ukrainian cities and towns.”
Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that work is underway to expand the coalition of countries that could donate even more F-16s to Ukraine.
“The donation of Danish F-16 fighter jets is another significant symbol of Denmark's unwavering support for Ukraine. We stand behind Ukraine's fight for freedom and hope to gather more countries in the coalition so that the Ukrainian air defense can be strengthened even more.”
Currently, the F-16 coalition includes Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Great Britain.
While the donation of F-16 fighter jets will be a massive boost for Ukraine’s Soviet-era Air Force the jets won’t be in Ukrainian hands anytime soon. The training program for Ukrainian pilots will take six months at a minimum but could last even longer. The Danish Armed Forces also add that the donation of F-16s to Ukraine “will be made gradually” so as not to compromise Denmark’s air defense capabilities while the country transitions to new F-35 fighter jets.
Another potential speed bump is the state of the planes to be donated. Last year, Denmark all but ruled out donating its F-16s because their aging jets were well past their shelf life. One assumes that some serious and costly refurbishments will have to be done before putting the planes in Ukrainian hands.
The F-16 agreement also stipulates that Ukraine has to meet severalconditions to get the jets. Pilots must be trained and approved to fly them. But also the transition of the jets themselves requires approval from the United States. Ukraine must also have the necessary infrastructure and logistics to utilize the more modern fighter jets before it can receive them.
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The Danish Armed Forces have confirmed that Ukrainian pilots, technical, and support personnel have all begun the F-16 training program at Skrydstrup Air Force Base.
Chief of Defense General Flemming Lentfer:
“Our F-16s are in demand, and the Danish Armed Forces are of course ready to support the Ukrainians with what we can. The Danish Air Force is very professional and has operated the F-16 aircraft for many years. Therefore, I am completely confident that the Fighter Wing at Skrydstrup is more than capable to take on this large and complicated task with this training course.”
The training program is rigorous and begins at admission. Ukrainians taking part will all have to get screened for security clearance, get a complete health evaluation, and meet language requirements in order to even begin the program.
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Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make an official visit to the Danish Parliament. He will be officially received at the front door by the Parliamentary Speaker and Deputy Speaker before addressing parliament itself. He will spend the next few hours in meetings with parliamentarians, government ministers, and the Prime Minister. Afterwards, Zelenskyy will have an audience with Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
As you can imagine security will be very tight around the parliament buildings and to some extent in downtown Copenhagen itself while all of this is going on.
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On Saturday, Zelenskyy paid an official visit to Sweden where he signed an agreement with Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson on jointly producing CV-90 combat vehicles in Ukraine.
The two also discussed the possible donation of Swedish Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine. Zelenskyy said that test trials with Ukrainian pilots on the Gripen aircraft in Sweden have already begun.
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The Swedish Parliament has given the green-light for another weapons package for Ukraine. This is the 13th weapons package donated by Sweden. It is worth 3.4 billion Swedish kroner (about $420 million Cdn). The shipment includes spare parts and other equipment for CV-90 combat vehicles and Leopard tanks it has already donated. The package also includes mine clearing and transport vehicles along with ammunition.
In a bit of a swap, Sweden will also sell RB 99 air-to-air missiles to the United States who in turn will donate them to Ukraine. In return, Sweden will get the option to buy more modern AMRAAM missiles from the States to replenish its stocks.
🇮🇷/ 🇩🇰 🇸🇪
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the Danish and Swedish charge d'affaires in for a talk about the desecration of the Muslim holy book the Koran. Both Nordic countries have seen extremists burn copies of the Koran in recent months sparking fury in the Muslim world.
⚡️Energy Crisis⚡️
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The European Union has reached 90% gas storage levels roughly two and half months ahead of its own deadline and well before winter temperatures arrive. Last winter Russia turned the gas taps off in an effort to weaponize its energy exports sending energy prices into the stratosphere and triggering the energy crisis. Since then, the EU has set a binding target of reaching 90% gas storage levels by November 1, a goal it has achieved by August 18.
Last winter, an unprecedented heat wave and mild weather prevented the massive strain on gas supplies that freezing temperatures would have wrought. But weather remains the ultimate wild card. With that in mind, the EU wants enough gas in storage to cover roughly one-third of winter demand.
EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson:
“Today’s confirmation that we have met our gas storage requirements so far ahead of schedule underlines that the EU is well-prepared for winter and this will help to further stabilize markets in the coming months. The EU energy market is in a much more stable position than it was this time last year, in good part because of the measures we have taken at the EU level. But we have seen in recent weeks that the gas market remains sensitive. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation, so that storage levels remain sufficiently high as we enter the next winter. Let me recall that we can further strengthen our position through investments in renewables and energy efficiency.”
The European Union has already extended gas use reduction mandates into next year. Last winter, Europe saw an 18% drop in gas use. Last year, the EU asked all member nations to voluntarily reduce gas usage by 15% to further reduce demand.
EU Commission President/Twitter
🦠COVID🦠
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A new COVID variant is causing concern. The BA.2.86 strain has now been identified across at least six countries. Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute has confirmed it has three infections from the new variant. It says each case was in a different part of the country and doesn’t seem to have any connection or commonality.
The sheer number of mutations in the strain has caused anxiety among epidemiologists. Last week, the World Health Organization designated BA.2.86 as a ‘Variant Under Monitoring’ despite just a handful of confirmed cases.
Experts in Denmark seem to share in the apprehension over the new variant.
SSI Senior Researcher Morten Rasmussen:
“It is unusual for the coronavirus to change so significantly and develop 30 new mutations. The last time we saw such a big change was when Omicron first appeared.”
The institute is busy analyzing the new variant in its laboratories in order to get a better handle on what if any threat it might pose. It says at the moment it is too early to say anything definitive about the variant’s severity and contagiousness.
Institute Manager Tyra Grove Krause:
“We react when we see something completely new, that is our task. But none of the three cases we have seen have had other symptoms than those normally seen in the course of COVID. We also have a strong expectation that the vaccines, also with this variant, will provide good protection against severe infection. We also do not consider that the increase in infections we have seen in recent weeks is due to this new virus variant.”
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Copenhagen’s much-heralded new ‘City Ring’ metro line is pulling in a lot fewer passengers than were forecast to use it. According to a report from DR the pricey new metro line, built at a cost of 25 billion Danish kroner (about $4.9 billion Cdn), is seeing on average about 150,000 passengers every weekday so far this year. It was expected that the metro line would be used by 235,000 passengers each day from Monday to Friday. Metroselskabet (Copenhagen Metro) blames the low numbers on the COVID pandemic. The new line opened in 2019, about six months before the coronavirus wreaked global havoc.
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In an initial threat assessment of the BA.2.86 variant the United Kingdom Health Security Agency sounds a cautionary note. It says with cases popping up across different countries among people with no travel history it suggests “that there is established international transmission.”
The UKHSA adds that with cases across the globe, it also hints strongly “of a relatively recent emergence and rapid growth.” But it adds with so many knowledge gaps at the moment until more sequenced positive test results are analyzed we just don’t know for sure.
The UK variant case was an infected person in London who was tested on August 13th. The person had no recent travel history adding to the suspicion of some level of community transmission.
“It is unreliable to attempt to predict the combined effect of the large number of mutations, however, there is sufficient information to expect significant antigenic change. There are also mutations in the spike protein, which may be associated with changes in other viral properties. There is currently insufficient data to assess the relative severity or degree of immune escape compared to other currently-circulating variants.“
The health agency says it expects to be able to shed a little more light on this new coronavirus strain in a couple of weeks as it more carefully analyzes the data of the infection case in London.
🇩🇰 The Week Ahead Round Up 🇩🇰
The annual Copenhagen TV Festival takes place on August 21 (today) and 22 (tomorrow). The event features presentations, screenings, debates, and a number of international speakers.
It takes place at the Tivoli Congress Centre.
You can find more information HERE.
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Denmark will host the Total Energies BWF World Badminton Championship from August 21 to 27. It will take place at Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
You can find more information HERE.
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On August 24th the three-day Kultur Mødet Mors event will take place in Mors, which is in North Jutland.
You can find more information on this arts and culture event HERE.
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Also beginning Thursday is Denmark’s most prominent music event, the Tønder Festival taking place in Southern Jutland.
You can buy tickets and check out the full line-up HERE.
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On Friday, Danish Astronaut Andreas Mogensen will leave Earth and begin a six-month stint on the International Space Station. He will also become the first-ever non-American to pilot a SpaceX mission.
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Also this Friday, a ‘Welcome Home’ party will be held at 4pm at Cafe Globen in Copenhagen for Danish adventurer Torbjørn Pedersen. He has become the first ever person to travel to every country on earth in one continuous journey without ever taking an airplane.
The event is sold out.
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If you are in Aarhus this Friday, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II will be at Den Gamle By to officially open the new ‘Museum for Dansk Bladtegning.’
The event takes place at 11am.
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The Aarhus Festival also begins on Friday. The event has it all as the city will be buzzing with music, theater, architecture, gastronomy, and arts events, and more every day until September 3.
Queen Margrethe II will also attend the festival’s gala opening.
More information HERE.
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Friday is a busy day in Denmark as Copenhagen will also host the ‘TrygFonden Copenhagen Swim’ event. The unique open-water swim will take participants past some of the most prominent buildings in central Copenhagen.
More HERE.
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For cycling lovers on Saturday Denmark hosts the Women’s World Tour Cycling Race. The event is co-hosted by Norway. The fourth stage of the event takes place in Herning on the 26th. Before moving to stage five on Sunday where the race starts in Middelfart and finishes in Haderslev.
Find out more about The Battle of the North HERE.
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Do you have an event you want us to know about? Shoot us a message and we will include it.