Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday (October 2) that Russia would only end its war in Ukraine if “forced to do so,” warning that Moscow’s aggression posed a threat not only to Ukraine but to all of Europe.

Frederiksen made the remarks as she hosted a summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Copenhagen, where leaders from 47 countries gathered to discuss security across the continent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy joined the summit, which focused heavily on Russia’s ongoing invasion and its broader geopolitical implications.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russia remained unrelenting in its campaign and must be countered with “everything that we have.”

The Russian shadow fleet represents an important part of Russia's business model so it is important to put pressure on it, French President Emmanuel Macron added, speaking during a panel discussion at the summit.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that Russia had failed in attempts to sway the vote through widespread disinformation and vote-buying.

The Kremlin denies the accusations of meddling, accusing Moldovan authorities of preventing hundreds of thousands of its citizens who live in Russia from voting by providing only two polling stations for the large diaspora.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (OCTOBER 2, 2025) (EUROPEAN UNION - Access all)

1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY GREETING EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN

2. SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ SPEAKING

3. IRISH TAOISEACH (PRIME MINISTER) MICHEAL MARTIN SPEAKING WITH HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN AND GREEK PRIME MINISTER KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS

4. ZELENSKIY SEATED AND SPEAKING TO DENMARK'S PRIME MINISTER METTE FREDERIKSEN

5. LEADERS SEATED AT PLENARY SESSION

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DENMARK'S PRIME MINISTER METTE FREDERIKSEN SAYING:

"Russia will not stop until they are forced to do so. And they are a threat, not only to Ukraine, but to all of us. Today, we have one major task ahead of us. We have to make our common Europe so strong that war against us becomes unthinkable. And we have to do it now."

7. FREDERIKSEN SPEAKING AT SESSION

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DENMARK'S PRIME MINISTER METTE FREDERIKSEN SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOTS OF FREDERIKSEN SPEAKING)

"But peace with Russia can only be achieved through strength. We have to strengthen Ukraine and weaken Russia with more sanctions. We have to be able to finance the armed forces in Ukraine. All of us have to deliver more weapons, more ammunition, and we have to do it faster. Nowhere will it make a greater impact for European security than at the front lines in Ukraine."

9. PLENARY SESSION IN PROGRESS

10. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER, FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON, POLISH PRIME MINISTER DONALD TUSK AND PRESIDENT OF MOLDOVA MAIA SANDU SEATED ON STAGE

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOTS OF STARMER SPEAKING)

"We've seen in recent weeks the appetite that Putin has to not only rain down on Ukraine, but also to take action and to interfere right across Europe in many different ways, whether that's in relation to our airspace, whether it's cyber or other attacks that have been going on. They are unrelenting and they show an appetite to continue this, and we must fight it with everything that we have."

12. STARMER SPEAKING ON STAGE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER SAYING:

"We must keep up this pressure on Putin. The economic pressure is having an effect, and we need to continue that pressure through further sanctions bearing down on energy in particular and on the shadow fleet."

14. PANEL SEATED ON STAGE / MACRON PICKING UP MICROPHONE

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOTS OF MACRON SPEAKING)

"30 to 40 percent of the war effort is financed through the revenues of the shadow fleet. It represents more than 30 billion euros. So it's extremely important to increase the pressure on this shadow fleet because it will clearly reduce the capacity to finance this war effort for Russia. So we put a series of sanctions on them, I mean, on the boats and on the insurance companies, harbours, and so on. But now we have clearly a way to increase the pressure by coordinating a holistic approach on this shadow fleet."

15. PANEL SEATED ON STAGE

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF MOLDOVA MAIA SANDU SAYING: (VIDEO QUALITY AS INCOMING)

"Russia had two objectives for these (Moldovan parliamentary) elections. One was to capture Moldova; this was the maximalistic objective, to capture Moldova through these elections or at least to destabilise the country and to, you know, discredit the results. And it has failed because both the state institutions worked very hard, but also it was a whole of society response."

17. PANEL SEATED ON STAGE