Inserts:

00:03 Report / Ralph Martin
01:12 Mette Frederiksen / Danish Prime Minister / September 17, 2025

Script:

AP_20250915_4603796
Danish troops in the Arctic, off the coast of Greenland. Leading military exercises involving hundreds of NATO troops. Part of a serious military upgrade. 

:11 ((tafel))
Denmark is a small country by any measure - with a population of about 6 million and some 20,000 active-duty military personnel divided among the army, navy and air force. The army has just 8,000 soldiers, some of whom are stationed in Iraq or the United Kingdom in support of Ukraine. ((source: GlobalFirepower))

:31 ((into MAP))
Its location makes it vulnerable - situated north of Germany on the Baltic sea. For years, Russia has tested Western defenses over the Baltic, with fighter planes and now, increasingly, drones. 

:44 ((weapons, PK))  AP_20250917_4604403   RWNE_20250528_7562 
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Denmark has announced a massive increase in its military spending, with an initial ten-year plan worth nearly 20 billion euros. In February it announced another multi-billion dollar bump for this year alone, and in September announced it was investing billions more in air defense and  longer-range missiles - a category of weapons long considered unnecessary for the country. 

1:10   SOT Frederiksen EBU_20250917_10336378
"" When we make these decisions, one must say they are historic investments in Danish defense. The purpose is to avoid going to war. Everything we do is about building a credible deterrent so that Russia does not advance."

1:26
Although Denmark hasn't said exactly what it's buying, the bulk of the new spending will go to European-sourced systems. Aligning Denmark towards Europe and away from dependence on the US, which has raised tensions with overtures towards acquiriing Greenland, a Danish territory.

1:45 AP_20250625_4585818
US President Donald Trump has also questioned the need to support NATO - leaving Denmark stuck between an increasingly undependable traditional ally and an aggressive Russia.