Copenhagen has dismissed the reports in Russian media as “misinformation”
Denmark has denied a report in Russian media that its F-16 instructor was killed by a Russian missile strike in Ukraine.
Over the weekend, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency cited “law enforcement sources” as claiming that a Danish national named Jepp Hansen was killed in a strike on a training center in the city of Krivoy Rog in Dnepropetrovsk Region in central Ukraine.
In a statement on Monday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen dismissed the report as “misinformation.”
“No Danish soldiers have been killed in Ukraine,” Poulsen said. “It is a false story that has been circulating in Russian media – probably to discredit Denmark,” he added.
The Russian media claimed that Hansen’s death was “confirmed” by his friend on social media. However, according to other posts on X, the account supposedly belonging to his friend did not actually exist.
Denmark has pledged to donate 19 US-made F-16 fighters to Kiev. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the delivery of the first batch of six jets in November. Danish instructors have trained Ukrainian pilots at an airbase in Denmark, according to NATO and the Danish government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that all NATO troops and weapons in Ukraine will be viewed as legitimate targets for Russian forces. He warned that no amount of Western aid would stop Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
