Russian ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin has accused Denmark of prolonging the war in Ukraine through military assistance, while dismissing Danish warnings about Russian sabotage. His allegations appeared in an interview published by the Russian state news agency TASS on Sunday, 1 November.
Barbin criticised Copenhagen’s plans to help buy USA-made Patriot air-defence missiles for Ukraine. He also cited Denmark’s donation of F-16 fighter jets and its financing of arms production in Ukraine, describing the country as a production and logistical base for Ukrainian forces.
“Denmark is focused not on a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, but on financing the continuation of hostilities.”
That is Barbin’s interpretation of Danish assistance, not an established explanation of why the war continues. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes its support as a response to Russia’s military aggression and includes civilian and humanitarian assistance alongside weapons.
The Danish Ministry of Defence confirms that Denmark helps fund NATO-coordinated purchases of American weapons, including Patriot ammunition, and equipment produced by Ukraine’s defence industry. Those programmes substantiate the scale of the assistance, but do not substantiate Barbin’s allegation that Denmark is opposed to diplomacy.
Russian ambassador disputes Danish sabotage warnings
Barbin also accused the Danish government of using fear of Russia to influence public opinion. In a separate account of the interview, TASS reported his rejection of allegations about Russian hybrid warfare and preparations for sabotage as baseless.
That conflicts with the assessment published by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste, PET). On 5 September, PET said it had detected concrete Russian planning and preparation for sabotage directed at Denmark, particularly companies involved in defence production and military supplies to Ukraine. The service stressed that this did not mean it knew of an imminent attack at a particular time or location.
On 24 September, Denmark’s Agency for Societal Security raised the threat level for destructive cyberattacks from medium to high, assessing that Russia was likely to attempt such attacks against Denmark.
Denmark rejected earlier Russian accusations
As of Monday, 2 November, no direct public response from the Danish government to Barbin’s latest interview could be verified. Copenhagen has, however, explicitly rejected a different accusation he made during an earlier diplomatic dispute.
On 14 September, a Russian frigate fired two flares towards a Danish military helicopter in international waters near Gedser. The Danish Armed Forces described the helicopter’s activity as a routine photographic mission and later disputed Russia’s version of the encounter. Barbin had characterised the Danish flight as provocative.
On 30 September, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen rejected that account and said Denmark should not be intimidated by Russia. His remarks concerned the helicopter incident, not the 1 November interview.
The latest allegations add to a dispute in which Russia challenges both Denmark’s support for Ukraine and the security assessments underpinning Danish concerns about Moscow.
