Norway will provide $226 million in humanitarian assistance and military equipment to Ukraine.
The Norwegian government announced the support measures in a statement Monday, saying that this “extraordinary allocation to Ukraine is intended to enhance the efforts of humanitarian actors to help the most vulnerable groups, including children.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre condemned Russia’s “military attacks in Ukraine,” which he said were “causing widespread loss of life and suffering in the civilian population, destroying vital infrastructure and forcing people to flee their homes.”
As far as military aid is concerned, Norway will send “military equipment such as helmets and bulletproof vests to Ukraine.” The equipment was all requested by Ukraine and can be sent quickly, Norwegian Defense Minister Roger Enoksen added.
He highlighted the plight of the Ukrainian people “fighting for survival against a superior military force.”
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is threatening European security in a way we have not experienced since the second world war. It poses a threat to the norms, values and principles on which our democratic societies are founded,” Enoksen continued.
Norway is joining the European Union to impose “harsh sanctions against Russia,” according to the statement, adding that further sanctions announced Monday “will also target Belarus.”
Norwegian Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum is also set to ask the Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund Global, to “freeze all its investments in Russia immediately” and divest from Russia.
Norway’s final move is closing its airspace to Russian airlines, joining a host of other European airlines in doing so.