Denmark’s pledge to send a Harpoon launcher and antiship missiles to Ukraine, which was disclosed on Monday, would help Kyiv bolster its defense against the Russian navy, which is laying siege to its Black Sea ports and causing global food shortages.
The U.S.-made missiles would extend Ukraine’s striking range against Russian ships that have attacked it from the Black Sea.
Moscow’s air force has failed to gain supremacy of the skies, and its fighter planes have proven vulnerable both to long-range antiair missile systems and hand-held surface-to-air missiles. As Russia’s air force has suffered heavy losses, Moscow has relied on missiles, including from the sea, according to Ukrainian military officials.
The Danish-supplied Harpoon is similar to the Neptune missile already in Ukrainian possession, which Kyiv has said helped it sink the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, called Moskva, in April.
The Danish pledge to supply Ukraine with missiles was announced by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at a press conference on Monday.
The Danish ministry of defense declined to comment on Mr. Austin’s announcement or to elaborate on what type of Harpoon launcher it was planning to send to Ukraine.
“It is no secret that we donate weapons to Ukraine, and we also coordinate this with the United States and Ukraine. But I do not want to go further into questions about specific donations,” Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov said in an emailed comment.
The Harpoon launcher can be operated from a ship, as well as from truck-based platforms on land. Depending on circumstances, it has a range of about 80 to about 150 miles.
The Danish pledge comes amid Russian accusations that the Scandinavian nation is fomenting instability in the Baltic Sea by conducting an ongoing joint exercise with American troops on the island of Bornholm.
“This can be seen as a step towards transforming Bornholm from an island of peace to a potential military bridge-head,” Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, told the Danish television station TV2.
An American transport plane was scheduled to arrive on Bornholm on Tuesday carrying missiles, including a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System with a range of over 300 miles, which would bring Russia within firing range, according to the Danish daily Berlingske.
The drill is part of Defender-Europe, a regular, American-led exercise that includes 18,000 troops from more than 20 countries across northern Europe. It was planned before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
