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Published on •Updated
Hundreds of Danish veterans, many of whom fought alongside US troops, staged a silent protest on Saturday outside the US Embassy in Copenhagen.
The demonstration was over comments by the Trump administration that downplayed their combat contributions and over threats to take control of Greenland.
The gathering began at Copenhagen’s Kastellet fortress, a historic site still used by the military, from where they marched to the nearby embassy carrying Danish flags.
“Denmark has always stood side by side with the US, and we have shown up in the world’s crisis zones when the USA has asked us to,” said Danish Veterans & Veteran Support, the group that organised the protest, in a statement. “We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump administration. Words cannot describe how much it hurts us that Denmark’s contributions and sacrifices in the fight for democracy, peace and freedom are being forgotten in the White House.”
Attendees planted 52 Danish flagsoutside the embassy, each bearing the name of a serviceman killed in Afghanistan or Iraq. As the names were read aloud, some participants were moved to tears.
Danish veterans said they were angered by US statements that disregarded Greenland’s right to self‑determination and dismissed Denmark’s role in ensuring Arctic security.
US President Donald Trump, speaking earlier this week in Davos, Switzerland, had dismissed allied soldiers. “We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them,” he said. “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
A veteran, Søren Knudsen, 65, said the remarks had offended many who served. “We have some who are suffering from PTSD or the like. And we have a lot of veterans who are luckily not suffering from anything, but they are still feeling offended by the statements,” he said.
Forty‑four Danish soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, the highest per‑capita death toll among coalition forces, and eight more in Iraq.
‘ICE only in Spritz’
Elsewhere in Europe, protests also unfolded in Italy, where hundreds gathered in Milan to oppose the deployment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Demonstrators filled Piazza XXV Aprile, named for Italy’s liberation from Nazi fascism in 1945, blowing whistles and waving banners reading “Never again means never again for anyone” and “Ice only in Spritz,” a reference to the popular aperitif.
The protest was supported by members of the Democratic Party, the CGIL trade union confederation and the ANPI, which preserves the memory of Italy’s anti‑fascist resistance.
Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE agents were not welcome in Milan. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has been called to Parliament to explain the deployment.
The Winter Olympics open on 6 February, with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio among those expected to attend.
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