Norway allocates over US$600 million to support Ukraine, mainly for air defence
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Norway has decided to allocate over US$600 million in additional funds to support Ukraine, most of which will be spent on air defence.
Source: European Pravda with reference to VG
Details: On Tuesday, the political parties represented in the Stortinget (the Norwegian parliament) backed a government proposal to increase aid to Ukraine in 2024 by NOK 7 billion (over US$600 million).
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said after the meeting that NOK 6 billion (US$540 million) of this amount would be spent mainly on air defence equipment and the remaining billion on other forms of support.
These changes take the total amount of Norwegian aid to Ukraine in 2024 to NOK 22 billion (almost US$2 billion) in direct support.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Norway for the decision on Twitter (X).
"I appreciate that the majority of these funds will be used to strengthen Ukraine's air defence, which is our top priority for protecting lives. We value Norway’s unfaltering support, understanding of our pressing needs, and willingness to stand by our side in the most critical time," he said.
I am grateful to the Norwegian government, led by Prime Minister @JonasGahrStore, for its decision to increase support for Ukraine by $600 million this year.
I appreciate that the majority of these funds will be used to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, which is our top…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 30, 2024
Ine Eriksen Søreide, Chair of the Stortinget’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, noted that the overall discussion on the framework of the Norwegian aid programme is not yet over. In her opinion, it is time to start thinking about revising the five-year budget of the NOK 75 billion (US$6.7 billion) support programme for Ukraine, as there are fewer funds left for the following years than originally planned.
Last week, the Norwegian government reported that in recent months, Norway has provided Ukraine with military materials worth NOK 1 billion (US$90 million).
During a visit to Kyiv, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Kyiv and Oslo had completed negotiations on the bilateral security agreement and will sign it at Zelenskyy's next meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The date of the meeting has not yet been announced.
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