Norway to contribute $43.7 million to UK's weapons procurement program for Ukraine

To help the Ukrainian forces fight Russia, Norway has decided to contribute around 400 million crowns, which is about $43.7 million to the UK's attempt to buy arms for Ukraine. Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated that they will recommend that 400 million Norwegian crowns be allocated to the British-led system for the acquisition of arms and military equipment for Ukraine. He also suggests that this financial assistance will provide Ukraine with equipment that the Norwegian Armed Forces themselves do not have.

The Prime Minister told parliament that Norway may also make additional direct weaponry deliveries to Ukraine. Because supplies are not publicly addressed until the weapons are in place for security reasons, Støre said nothing about what weapons Norway might provide in the future. He further said that they recall that Norway had previously decided to transfer Mistral anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested that Norway equip Ukraine with anti-ship missile systems and NASAMS systems.

Fight has entered a new phase: Norwegian Prime Minister

Støre said in the statement that the fight in Ukraine has entered a new phase, according to Aftenposten. He claimed that the Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to try to reinforce Russia's ground presence in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions, maybe all the way to Odesa and the Moldovan border in the southwest, and that ending the battle appears to be quite difficult at this point. He also said that the evidence of significant war crimes, from Bucha in the north to Mariupol in the southeast, is making maintaining communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime increasingly difficult.

'Russia was unlikely to achieve its objectives during the initial phase of the war'

The Norwegian Prime Minister acknowledged that the war in Ukraine may continue to deteriorate but also pointed out the weakness of the Russian forces. He noted that Russia did not achieve its objectives during the initial phase of the war, stating they haven't taken Kyiv or deposed the country's democratically elected government, according to Aftenposten. He also claimed that they have lost their soldiers and equipment in large numbers and that the battle has exposed serious flaws in Russia's defence, including intelligence, cross-functional coordination, logistics, leadership and motivation of Russian forces.