Video courtesy by EU
Russia is waging a multi-front war against Europe using North Korean soldiers, Iranian drones, Chinese support and tactics ranging from military strikes to migrant manipulation, European leaders were told Thursday at an emergency summit addressing continental security.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned approximately 50 gathered European leaders that Russia’s threat extends far beyond Ukraine’s borders and that Putin’s “imperial fever dream” shows no signs of stopping with Ukrainian territory.
“Russia is now converting into a war economy, using every opportunity to intimidate, to threaten and to divide us,” Frederiksen said. “Unfortunately enabled by China, with soldiers from North Korea and drones from Iran.”
The stark assessment came at the European Political Community forum in Copenhagen, where leaders confronted what Frederiksen characterized as an adversary using “all kinds of tools” to destabilize the continent.
“One day it is military drones,” Frederiksen said. “Another day it’s migrants being pushed across the borders. They are targeting critical infrastructure. We see the fight with misinformation, all with the purpose to create uncertainty and lack of trust, and attempts to interfere in democratic elections.”
The Danish prime minister told assembled leaders that security has evolved beyond traditional military confrontation into a battle for “hearts and minds” as democracy faces global pressure.
“Security is, of course, not only a question about military means,” Frederiksen said. “It is a matter of our hearts and minds.”
The forum was established in 2022 specifically to respond to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but Frederiksen said the threat perception must expand beyond Ukraine’s borders.
“The war was never just about Ukraine,” she said. “It is about Europe. All our nations, all our citizens, our values and our freedom.”
Frederiksen challenged European leaders who view the Russian threat as distant or abstract, invoking historical patterns of Russian expansionism.
“I know that for some of you, the threat from Russia is very clear and very present,” she said. “For others, it still seems further away. But none of us can no longer be naive.”
Historical parallels drawn included the Russian Empire’s expansion and Soviet tanks rolling across borders during the Cold War.
“Recent history tells us the exact same story,” Frederiksen said. “So why shouldn’t it happen again?”
The Danish leader told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that his nation’s nearly four-year resistance benefits all Europeans, not just Ukrainians.
“You are fighting for European security, holding back Putin, defending all Europeans,” Frederiksen said.
Support for Ukraine was characterized not as humanitarian assistance but as direct continental defense.
“It’s not charity what we’re doing in Ukraine,” Frederiksen said. “It is a direct defense of our continent.”
She called for accelerated weapons and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine.
“Nowhere it will make a greater impact for European security than at the front lines in Ukraine,” Frederiksen said. “All of us have to deliver more weapons, more ammunition, and we have to do it faster.”
While acknowledging increased military budgets and institutional progress through the EU and NATO, Frederiksen said pace remains inadequate.
“We are on our way, but we have to move much faster,” she said, citing Ukraine’s rapid defense industry development as a model. “We have to learn from Ukraine, your sense of urgency, building an incredible defense industry in just a couple of years.”
The Danish prime minister connected security directly to domestic governance, arguing that democratic resilience requires delivering tangible benefits to citizens facing economic pressures.
“Our citizens need jobs and economic security,” Frederiksen said. “They need health care, education for their kids, affordable food, opportunities for their future.”
Economic independence was presented as a security imperative.
“We have to reduce our dependencies,” she said. “We have to invest in new technologies and source the critical raw materials that are necessary.”
Frederiksen also emphasized migration as a security and social challenge requiring stronger border controls.
“Uncontrolled migration is changing our societies, and it is our citizens that pays the price,” she said. “Who can enter and stay in our country? It has to be a democratic decision.”
She concluded with an assessment of Russian failures since 2022, noting Putin’s three main objectives remain unachieved despite massive investment and casualties.
“He wanted to capture Kyiv, he wanted to overthrow the Ukrainian government, and he wanted to tear Europe apart,” Frederiksen said of Putin’s war aims.
After nearly four years of conflict and billions spent, she characterized the invasion as a Russian failure.
“Today, after almost four years of full-scale war, after spending billions of dollars sacrificing thousands of Russian lives, Putin has not succeeded in any of that,” Frederiksen said.
She credited Ukrainian resistance and international support for preventing Russian success.
“The war is a Russian failure,” Frederiksen said. “First and foremost, thanks to you, Volodymyr, to every brave Ukrainian man and woman fighting for our freedom, but also to every nation supporting you.”
Frederiksen challenged European leaders to demonstrate collective strength.
“Europe is strong when we decide to be, and we need to make it much stronger,” she said.
The summit format brings together leaders from diverse European nations with varying proximity to Russian threats and different national interests, attempting to forge unified responses to what Frederiksen characterized as existential continental challenges.
The meeting occurs as Ukraine’s war approaches its fourth year with no clear path to resolution while Russia expands its international military partnerships and escalates hybrid warfare tactics across European territory.
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