Lesia Ihnatyk-Eriksen is a well-known Ukrainian-Danish activist, entrepreneur, interpreter and public figure. Of Ukrainian origin, she has lived and worked in Denmark for the past 14 years, actively involved in supporting the Ukrainian diaspora, investments and humanitarian aid. Former head of the Association of Ukrainians in Denmark (AUD), founder and head of the NGO “Help Ukrainian Children” (Hjælp Ukrainske Børn). She is also an adviser to Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in Denmark, and heads the Danish company “NordikUkrainInvest”, which facilitates investment between Ukraine and Denmark.
Denmark ranks first in the world in the volume of assistance provided to Ukraine over recent years of war relative to its population. Denmark’s position and decisions are taken seriously across the world — in Scandinavian countries there is a saying about three centres of influence: Washington, Brussels and Copenhagen. This conversation with Lesia Ihnatyk-Eriksen is primarily about Ukrainians who ended up in Denmark because of the war: about challenges, realities and prospects.
“On February 24, 2022, I received over 160 phone calls”
Lesia, please briefly tell us your story: how did you come to be in Denmark?
I was born and grew up in Kyiv. I graduated from the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. My second degree is in law. For a while I worked in television in Lviv. I met my husband, a Dane, and fate brought me to Denmark, where I have been living for 14 years now. For me, a person with two higher degrees, it was not easy to adapt in a new country, to find myself again, not knowing the language or the environment. You find yourself again in the position of a small child, having to learn everything: booking a doctor’s appointment, using public transport, communicating with locals.
That personal experience proved invaluable when in 2022 Ukrainians began arriving in Denmark. I remember telling many of them: “Your first job here won’t be your last.” Only on the first day of the full-scale war, February 24, 2022, I received over 160 phone calls. The very next day, all Ukrainian civic organisations in Denmark united, a crisis centre was created at the Association of Ukrainians in Denmark under the chairmanship of Andrii Kuzmіn at that time, and we began sending aid to Ukraine by the truckload. It was a 24/7 marathon. Danes mobilised very quickly and effectively to help Ukraine in those days: they drove to the Ukrainian border to bring people, housed Ukrainians in their homes. The state swiftly passed a special law simplifying the stay and adaptation of “newly arrived Ukrainians” (a term we introduced in Denmark, so as not to call people refugees): children could immediately go to school, and adults could start work.
About 60,000 Ukrainians live in Denmark
Since the start of the full-scale war, 56,000 Ukrainians have officially received permission to reside in Denmark. Not all have stayed — many moved on. Before 2022, 14–16,000 Ukrainians lived here: Denmark is a small country. Today Ukrainians are the second largest group of immigrants and descendants of immigrants in Denmark — second only to the Turkish community. According to Danmarks Statistik, as of the first quarter of 2026, 58,682 Ukrainians (immigrants and their descendants) live in Denmark. According to the Danish Ministry of Employment, approximately 48,600 persons from Ukraine were in Denmark in February 2026 under a special law for those displaced by war. Nearly 17,800 of them were employed.
Denmark is not an easy country for integration. Despite this, almost half of Ukrainians have found official employment here. From the outset the state imposed strict conditions on those wishing to stay. Receiving payments from the municipality, Ukrainians are required to attend language courses and immediately go on placement — to integrate into society.
Conversation recorded by Halyna Huzo.
