Oil-rich Norway is seeking to donate $7.3 billion to Kiev as part of a five-year support package that would make the Scandinavian country one of the world’s largest donors to war-torn Ukraine, the Norwegian government.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the money would be split evenly between military and humanitarian assistance over five years, split into $1.5 billion a year. The proposed aid package will be put to a vote in parliament.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that combined, the European Union’s economic, humanitarian and military support to Ukraine now amounts to nearly €50 billion. Earlier this month, the EU said it would unveil its tenth package of sanctions against Russia on Feb. 24, the anniversary of the war. It will target, among other things, the technology used by the Russian war machine.
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Norway, which is not a member of the EU, gave Ukraine more than $1 billion in civilian and military aid last year.
“It will lead to more use of oil money,” Gahr Støre said, adding he hoped a “large majority” in the Norwegian parliament would approve the aid package. The parliamentary majority is expected to approve the proposal.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, left, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store speak at a conference in Oslo, Norway February 6, 2023. (Terje Pedersen/NTB Scanpix via AP)
“Supporting Ukraine means supporting a people experiencing war, but it is also support for our basic security,” Gahr Støre told a news conference.
“We are showing the Ukrainians that we will support them for a long time”, adding that “it would be possible to plan better so that the money is used where the needs are greatest”.
At a conference last Monday in Oslo, Gahr Støre spoke of a new iron curtain dividing east and west.
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“The implications for Europe are hard to overstate. A Russia in self-imposed isolation is bad news for us.” You also stated that “Ukraine’s needs are immense”.
The Oslo government also proposed to increase aid to countries affected by the war in Ukraine by 490 million dollars, money that should be used for humanitarian aid and food.
Last week, the Norwegian government said oil profits should go towards funding more aid to Ukraine.
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Norway is one of Europe’s largest fossil fuel exporters, and the conflict in Ukraine has boosted gas revenues. However, Norway has rejected allegations that it is profiting from the war in Ukraine.
A rush by European countries to secure alternative energy sources after the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago has dramatically increased the demand – and the price – of Norwegian oil and gas.
