Today’s big topic: In Copenhagen, Zelenskyy put his finger on Europe’s problem
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mette Frederiksen in an informal conversation at the University of Copenhagen on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. The prime minister is hosting Ukraine’s president in Denmark.
What’s happening?
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is on an official visit to Denmark for two days. On Tuesday afternoon, he and Mette Frederiksen (Socialdemokratiet, S), prime minister of Denmark, made an appearance at the University of Copenhagen for a ’fireside chat’ moderated by Rasmus Tantholdt of TV2.
Zelesky’s message was simple: Europe needs to speak to Russia and Vladimir Putin in one clear voice.
After weeks of public disagreement in the Nordic region over how to handle the relationship to the Russian president, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is calling on European countries to decide who should serve as Europe’s voice to the outside world.
He made clear that this is especially crucial right now because Ukraine is currently facing difficulties with the United States after President Trump suspended American sanctions on Russia in exchange for gaining access to Russian diesel for the U.S.
Why it matters!
In a broader context, the weeks leading up to Zelensky’s visit have been a highly unusual period for the Nordic countries, which since 2022 have been among the world’s largest contributors per capita to Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. Until Oct. 27, it had been all but impossible to identify a point on which Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark had publicly disagreed over measures related to the war in any of its dimensions.
But as early as Oct. 20, it seemed as if Norway and Finland had broken ranks by, at Zelensky’s request, hosting a meeting in Oslo attended by the Ukrainian president and Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy, before Witkoff’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
The following week, Mette Frederiksen put the Nordic disagreement on open display when, before abruptly returning home from a Nordic Council meeting in Helsinki, she reacted unusually sharply to the fact that Støre and Stubb had just had a 90-minute phone call with Putin.
Frederiksen accused the Norwegian-Finnish duo of »going solo« at the expense of European unity and added that she could not see what the two countries thought they stood to gain by speaking with the Russian president.
Asked directly whether she herself wants to be Europe’s voice, Mette Frederiksen replied: »No. Well hopefully I am a part of the voice of Europe, and as Volodymyr just said, all of us are, but our European institutions should be the center of the work we’re doing«.
Frederiksen did not elaborate on whether she meant the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, or someone else.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
– Member of Parliament publicly exposed a private family. Now documents show the case is more complicated
Member of Parliament, influencer and author Signe Wenneberg (Alternativet, Å) has come under fire after publicly exposing a private family on her social media accounts. On Monday, Jannie and Jesper Jelkvist reported her to the police for unlawful entry onto private property, invasion of privacy and defamation. On Tuesday, the couple also reported her for stalking and harassment, they say to Politiken.
Signe Wenneberg runs an Instagram account with more than 170,000 followers. There, she posts, among other things, images of demolition projects that she believes place a greater burden on the climate than necessary. It has helped her build a large following, but has also brought considerable criticism.
Read the full article here.
– El Niño threatens our ability to feed the world
Several forecasts this year suggest that El Niño will be more intense than ever before – a so-called Super El Niño. El Niño is a recurring climate phenomenon in which sea temperatures rise, leading to more extreme weather. It is intensified by climate change, and this year we are likely to see the consequences. Climate change and phenomena like El Niño have very concrete consequences for people’s ability to produce and access food, so it is crucial that the link between climate and hunger takes a central place in the negotiations at COP31, according to director of climate and resilience at the United Nations World Food Programme Richard Choularton.
– The season’s first snowfall may be on the way
Weather forecasts suggest that the season’s first snow and sleet showers may begin appearing across parts of the country. That is according to Lars Henriksen, the duty meteorologist at the Danish Meteorological Institute, in a comment posted on the DMI website on Tuesday. Temperatures remain comfortably above freezing, however, so Denmark is not about to be covered in a blanket of white, he told Ritzau.
Actor has tips for the city, a good place to eat and more
In Christianshavn, Clint Ruben has found great running routes, shared dinners and — perhaps best of all — red cordial for DKK 15.
Restaurant
»Kanalhuset in Christianshavn feels like stepping into Postgaarden from ’Matador’. The food is wonderful, and the whole concept is refreshingly down-to-earth: communal dinners, calm and unhurried. You can strike up a conversation with someone you don’t know, or not, if you’re not in the mood. The dish of the day changes, but it’s always good. And Christianshavn Canal is always lovely for a walk afterwards, especially now in the dark«
Urban space
»Now that winter is really on its way, I make use of Sjællandsgadebadet in Nørrebro. It’s a pleasant place run by volunteers who keep the whole thing going. It’s the best place to take a break from screens. They have books, chess and all the tea you could want. I can spend many hours there, either with a shower and sauna or in the bathtub, if they happen to be available for once«.
Find more tips from Actor Clint Ruben here.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.