Denmark opens embassy office in southern Mykolaiv to support reconstruction

Denmark will open its embassy office in southern Mykolaiv to establish communication with local authorities to restore the city's infrastructure and energy facilities damaged by Russian attacks.

The new office is a branch office of the main Danish Embassy to Ukraine in Kyiv, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said to news wire Ritzau.

We must do everything we can to support Ukraine, and we cannot wait for the war to end to rebuild the country. That's why we are opening an embassy office in Mykolaiv, which President Zelenskyy has given Denmark a special responsibility for rebuilding, he said at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv.

The office will ensure a close dialogue with regional and local authorities. Ukraine's recovery needs will be matched with the specific competencies of Danish NGOs and companies, as well as commercial solutions in the areas of water, energy, and waste management.

The Foreign Minister also announced that Denmark will allocate $2.8 million)to support Ukraine's cybersecurity.

There is a great need to build a more robust digital infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia is using cyberattacks to try to disrupt critical infrastructure and undermine trust in the government. It is against this backdrop that we are now supporting Ukraine's cybersecurity with DKK 20 million in close partnership with the US, Rasmussen said.

Mykolaiv was one of the first cities to be attacked when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

In March last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for Denmark to help rebuild the bombarded city in an address to the Danish parliament. Some 230,000 of the pre-war population of 500,000 are still in Mykolaiv, according to Ritzau.

Denmark has since taken on a prominent role in the work, including the supply of construction machinery to the city.