The Norwegian government offered a new package of civilian and military aid to Ukraine, three years after it was invaded by Russia. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was in Kyiv to take part in a new meeting on the crisis, but thinks it’s too early to discuss sending any peace-keeping forces into Ukraine.
Several opposition party leaders in Oslo now favour sending Norwegian soldiers to Ukraine, if a peace pact is agreed between Ukraine and Russia. “Of course we should also contribute along with our allies,” Guri Melby, leader of the Liberal Party, told news bureau NTB after both Sweden and the UK proposed such last week. Both the Conservatives and the Greens in Norway have proposed the same.
Prime Minister Støre doesn’t think it’s time for that yet, though, with no peace pact proposed and Ukraine not even included in preliminary and controversial meetings between Russia and the new US administration. Støre and many of those in Kyiv on Monday weren’t included in last week’s initial crisis meetings in Paris either, but they had a chance to air their thoughts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself Monday morning.
While Støre’s defense minister spent the day visiting a training operation for Ukrainian soldiers in Trøndelag, the prime minister did announce an additional NOK 12.5 billion (around USD 1.1 billion) worth of civilian support to both Ukraine and its neighbouring Moldova this year. The funding will include energy support and nearly NOK 3.5 billion worth of gas supplies.
The Norwegian government will also contribute another NOK 3.5 billion in military support, in the form of training and equipping Ukrainian military brigades in cooperation with the Baltic countries. Norway also has been helping to train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK and Germany, and will also spend NOK 600 million developing and buying various drones for use in Ukraine.
There’s been some criticism within Ukraine about the training received overseas, with one military leader writing in Ukrainske Pravda that it hasn’t always been “synchronized with the realities of modern warfare.” Norway’s defense minister Sandvik told state broadcaster NRK on Monday that the Norwegian military is in “tight dialogue” with Ukrainian defense officials over what they need. “Together with the the other Nordic and Baltic countries, we will tailor the training to fulfill Ukraine’s needs,” Sandvik told NRK.
‘Moral responsibility’
Norway, which earlier has topped lists of countries offering aid to Ukraine, has lately come under criticism for not donating as much as it could given how it has profited on high prices for the oil and gas it has produced since the invasion. While many countries have borrowed money to pass on to Ukraine, Norway also has a huge sovereign wealth fund that can be tapped.
When a group of Norwegian Members of Parliament visited Brussels recently, they were reminded by some EU members that Norway has earned billions on gas sales to Europe as a whole, yet has fallen to 15th place on the international list of donors to Ukraine. “We have a moral responsibility,” agreed Sveinung Stensland of the Conservative Party, telling NTB that “when we earn money on the war, we must offer more aid.”
Others noted how former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg repeatedly called on all NATO members to keep boosting their support for Ukraine. Now he’s Norway’s finance minister, and Stensland said many expect him to continue such support in his new role.
“There’s no doubt that Norway and Europe must do more for Ukraine,” said Ine Eriksen Søreide, a former defense- and foreign minister from the Conservatives. The need for support for Ukraine has also risen in line with threats of less support from the US. Melby of the Liberal Party wants to offer NOK 100 billion more to Ukraine, three times what’s offered now.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
