The Norwegian government has offered to increase support for Ukraine by NOK 5 billion (€425 million) this year and provide at least NOK 15 billion (€ 1.275 billion) a year until 2030.

Panorama Nyheter reported on this.

“We have proposed to introduce a lower limit for our support to Ukraine, where NOK 15 billion will form the basis of support each year, instead of a ceiling of NOK 75 billion for the entire program,” explains Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre after a meeting with parliamentary leaders in Storting.

According to him, each year there will be two opportunities to consider additional allocations in addition to what is provided for in the state budget as minimum support.

Norwegian assistance is provided under the Nansen Program. This is a collective term for Norwegian assistance to Ukraine, both military and civilian.

The prime minister did not specify how new funds would be divided between military and civilian support. According to him, it is impossible to say what will happen in the coming years, so it is important that the program is flexible.

“If there is a need to focus on reconstruction, we will be able to turn our assistance and methods of work in this direction. I hope we can look towards the reconstruction fund, but we are not there today,” he said.

At the same time, the leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Guri Melby, is dissatisfied with the level of the aid package and believes that the authorities expect the conflict to last for a long time.

“NOK 130 billion sounds like a lot, but the main step the government has taken is that they are taking into account the fact that the conflict will last until 2030. The war should be over long before then, and more needs to be allocated now. Until then, there will be only promises on paper,” she says.

Assistance from Norway

On May 31, 2024, Ukraine and Norway signed a security agreement.

The agreement stipulates that in 2024 Norway will provide Ukraine with about €1.2 billion in aid. In total, Norway has allocated almost EUR 6.4 billion for 2023-2027 in the Nansen long-term program to support Ukraine.

On September 3, 2024, Norway allocated an additional NOK 570 million for the International Fund for Ukraine, led by the United Kingdom. With this money, Ukraine will receive more drones and air defense equipment.