Ukrainian refugees are putting pressure on Copenhagen - the mayor wants to set a proposal in

Tuesday, December 09, 2025 • 9:22 AM UTC - in Denmark

Ukrainian refugees pressure Copenhagen - mayor wants to change the law

Copenhagen's Municipality is running out of accommodation options for Ukrainians, says employment and integration mayor, Jens-Kristian Lütken (V).

Jens-Kristian Lütken (V), employment and integration mayor in the municipality, believes that there are many young Ukrainian men coming to the municipality. (Photo: © Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix. Graphic: Sara Lillie Gronitzka. )

From

August Olaf Jersild ( [email protected] ) 8 min. ago

Many Ukrainians are currently coming to the capital Copenhagen - but it is the wrong ones, we are taking in.

This is what Jens-Kristian Lütken (V) believes, who is employment and integration mayor in the municipality.

- We can see that those who come to Denmark at the moment, it is primarily young men who have been given permission to leave Ukraine. And those we take in to a lesser extent come from directly war-torn areas.

- There is something strange about it. We take in those who can certainly take care of themselves, and take in fewer of those who actually have a need for help, he says in P1 Morgen.

The mayor wants there to be a change in the law for Ukrainians, as Berlingske has also described. ( https://www.berlingske.dk/indland/koebenhavnsk-borgmester-vil-saette-prop-i-den-ukrainske-flygtningestroem )

The law ensures accommodation and support for Ukrainians who come to Denmark from the war-torn country. However, in August, the travel ban for Ukrainian men aged 18-22 was lifted. ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/unge-ukrainske-maend-stroemmer-til-danmark-efter-nye-regler-i-ukraine-det-er-en-ny-situation )

Jens-Kristian Lütken (V) has been a member of the City Council since 2014. In 2022 he became employment and integration mayor. (Photo: © Asger Ladefoged, Ritzau Scanpix)

Therefore, many young Ukrainian men are coming to Denmark. According to Jens-Kristian Lütken, 50 Ukrainians come to Copenhagen per week.

And it is pressuring both the economy and the Ukrainians, he says.

- It is very difficult to find accommodation for the Ukrainians who are coming in such large numbers now. That is why we rent hotels. It is a very expensive way to do it.

- They live very close together, and that also causes the conflict level to rise. So there are really many bad things about accommodating so many people in such a small area.

The mayor informs that Copenhagen's Municipality spends a quarter of a billion kroner a year on accommodating Ukrainians.

- We could use the money more wisely. Partly by a different distribution key in Denmark, but also in relation to whom we actually take in? We could get more out of a quarter of a billion kroner than by taking in young men from Ukraine, who there is a need for in Ukraine.

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'It is important to stay in Ukraine'

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Jens-Kristian Lütken wants the law to only apply to Ukrainians who come from areas of the country that are directly affected by the war.

However, the law for Ukrainian refugees is set to expire in March. Therefore, the mayor wants the law to be changed before that happens.

- We can see that in March next year, we are simply running out of accommodation capacity.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Denmark has contributed approximately 70.3 billion kroner in military support and approximately 6.9 billion kroner in civilian support to Ukraine since the start of the war. (Photo: © Zohra Bensemra, Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix)

But does it not send a harmful signal that we are on our way to turning our backs on a country that the government says is very important to support?

- The best way to support Ukraine is by supporting their army, supporting them with weapons and money. That is what matters.

- The signal we send here is that it is important to stay in Ukraine, be present to rebuild Ukraine and create a viable nation. And that is not done by leaving the country, says Jens-Kristian Lütken.

He also suggests that more should be done to help Ukrainians who are already in Denmark to return home - for example with a cash payment.

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'We are listening'

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In a written response, immigration and integration minister Rasmus Stoklund (S), confirms that he was at a meeting with the acting mayor of Copenhagen, Lars Weiss (S), the Association of Municipalities (KL) and several other municipalities in November, where the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees was a topic.

- I acknowledge the municipalities' great work in receiving a very large number of displaced people from Ukraine. Therefore, we have also given municipalities flexible and wide-ranging frameworks for reception – something KL previously requested.

- We listen to the municipalities' concerns and are also considering whether it gives reason for further initiatives from the government's side, the minister says and emphasizes that "Denmark stands 100 percent on Ukraine's side in Russia's barbaric war of aggression".

It does not look like a law change is imminent.

Immigration and Integration Ministry also states that in Copenhagen's Municipality, Ukrainian refugees are not to the same extent employed as in other municipalities.

- 61 percent of the 18-66-year-old displaced people from Ukraine, covered by the law, were in paid employment in September 2025. In Copenhagen's Municipality, the corresponding figure was 50 percent, writes the ministry.

In Denmark, there were approximately 41,000 displaced Ukrainians covered by the law on October 31 this year. Of these, slightly over 4,400 were in Copenhagen's Municipality.

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