Norway to Send $144 Million In Ukraine Support: The Norwegian government confirmed on Thursday that it will provide $144 million to the British International Fund for Ukraine, a collective fund designed to allow various world governments to provide economic support to Ukraine.
Norwegian Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram announced the plans this week during a meeting with his British counterpart Ben Wallace. The money will expand on the roughly $40 million already donated by Norway to the fund.
Wallace praised Norway’s “unwavering” support for Ukraine and recognized that the latest donation, roughly three times as much as what has previously been donated by the country will make a “material difference to providing further military aid.”
What Is the International Fund for Ukraine?
The International Fund for Ukraine is a British-led fund that was expanded in August to include financial support for military training and the purchase of equipment for Ukrainian troops.
The fund obtains equipment for Ukrainian troops directly from private industry.
Defence Minister Gram said following his meeting with his British officials this week that Noway has a “world leading defence industry within certain areas” and is able to “produce systems that can supply Ukraine’s requirements.”
“I am pleased that Norwegian industry will be able to compete for contracts through this fund,” he added.
Should Norway Pay More?
Some analysts argue that Norway should continue to provide substantial military aid to Ukraine, and others say that the country should be providing more.
Writing for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a policy organization and think tank that promotes European ties with the United States, researcher Jacob Kirkegaard argued that Norway’s economic benefits from war-related energy price spikes in the European gas markets mean the country owes Ukraine more.
Norway, as the principal beneficiary of the recent war-related energy price spike particularly in the European gas markets, is in a unique financial, political, and moral position to kickstart the Ukrainian reconstruction process by contributing a share of its windfall from exports of natural gas,” Kirkegaard said, adding that Norway earned roughly €84 billion in additional proceeds between the end of 2021 and August 2022, compared to revenue between 2010 and 2019.
“This is a sizable sum for any country— and noticeably one already as rich as Norway—to earn directly as a result of Russia’s energy market disruption and military aggression,” the researcher added.
While Norway isn’t the only country to see a spike in sales of natural gas, it may be one of the few countries willing to part with some of those proceeds to assist Ukraine.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
