What Happened After Denmark Adopted a Ruined City in Ukraine
The Danish government has contributed more than $250 million to Mykolaiv, as the Trump administration pushes a more business-focused plan.
By Andrew E. Kramer
The Danish project is a traditional country-to-country aid program that contrasts with a Trump administration plan that would focus on for-profit ventures in rebuilding Ukraine. Denmark’s work is aimed at mending both the physical landscape and the social fabric. And the city is now bouncing back.
“I don’t know why Denmark chose us, but it’s the best luck we ever had,” said Dmytro Tarasenko, an adviser to the regional governor.
Rebuilding war-damaged Ukraine is likely to become the largest reconstruction effort in Europe since the Marshall Plan after World War II. It will require hundreds of billions of dollars in aid and investment.
The Danish project began in March 2022 after President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Danish Parliament to partner with Mykolaiv, a port on the Black Sea. By last year, Denmark had invested nearly $250 million in the city and the surrounding region.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/world/europe/mykolaiv-ukraine-denmark-rebuilding.html