Denmark to formulate women in the army amid the increase in Russian aggression and military expansion

20 -year -old Catherine, who has been moving over a thick extension of forests outside the capital of Denmark, is looking for a 20 -year -old Catherine, scanning the horizon due to approaching threats.

Nearly four months of military training, the young soldier and the rest of its unit in early June spent their final exercises near the Danish army barracks in Hofiti, 25 km north of Copenhagen.

Catherine and other soldiers volunteered, all of whom spoke to the Associated Press on June 11, provided that their first names are used only because of operating security, for military service earlier this year. To date, this was the only way for women to be part of the armed forces.

The Scandinavian state seeks to increase the number of youth in the army by extending the mandatory recruitment of women for the first time. Men and women can still volunteer, and the remaining places will be filled with a gender neutral lottery.

“In the situation in the world now, there is a need,” Catherine said. “I think it is justice and the right to participate equally with men.”

Under new bases approved by the Denmark Parliament earlier in June, the 18 -year -old Danish women will be introduced after Tuesday in the lottery system, equally with their male citizens. The change comes against the background of the Russian aggression and the growing military investment in NATO countries.

Move based on the “current security situation”: the head of the recruitment program

Even from the relative safety of Denmark, Russia is widely invaded by Ukraine. Lessons from Ukrainian battlefields may nominate them until their training.

“This makes it very real,” Catherine said.

Denmark reforms were originally clarified in 2024 as part of the main defense agreement. It was originally expected to implement the program by early 2027, but it was presented to the summer of 2025.

Colonel Kenneth Street, head of the recruitment program, told AP that the step is based on the “current security situation”.

“They can participate in the deterrence of NATO,” he added. “Raising the number of recruits, and this simply leads to more combat power.”

Denmark, a nation of six million, has about 9,000 professional soldiers. The new arrangement is expected to achieve up to 6,500 annually by 2033, up from 4700 last year.

Under the Danish law, all men who are physically over 18 years old are summoned to military service. But since there is usually enough volunteers, there is a lottery system, so not all young people. On the contrary, women only volunteered before, and they formed nearly a quarter of the 2024 group.

“Some people may feel very disappointed to go to the army,” said Ann Sophie, part of the volunteers in Catherine, for the new recruits. “It is possible that some and the same will be much more than they think.”

The service period is extended from four to 11 months. The recruits will first spend five months in basic training, followed by six months of operational service, in addition to additional lessons.

A “gradual operation” to build the army

This step is part of a wider military accumulation by the north.

In February, the Denmark government announced plans to support its army by establishing a $ 7 billion US fund that he said would raise defense spending in the country to more than 3 percent of GDP this year. Parts of the recruitment program are funded by the alleged acceleration box.

“We see a joint security situation in Europe. We have the ongoing struggle in Ukraine. We have focused on the Baltic countries, where Denmark contributes to many soldiers. So, I think it is a general effort to strengthen the Danish defense,” said researcher Rick Hoggard of the Danish Faculty of Defense.

But Haugegaard notes that there are many challenges, of inappropriate equipment and additional barracks, to potential sexual harassment.

“For the next year or two, we will build a lot of new buildings to accommodate all of these people. Therefore, it will be a gradual process,” she added.

In 2017, the neighboring Sweden put a military draft for both men and women after its government talked about the deterioration of a security environment in Europe. Norway submitted its law on the application of military recruitment on both sexes in 2013