The Norwegian Government is set to boost its military aid to Ukraine in 2025, following a consensus in the Storting, the nation’s parliament.
The planned augmentation will see Norway’s contribution to Ukraine’s defence efforts rise by Nkr50bn ($4.58bn), reaching a total of Nkr85bn for that year.
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This increment in funding is earmarked exclusively for military assistance, which will be channelled through global partnerships and purchases from Ukrainian defence manufacturers.
Norway’s enhanced support aligns with Ukraine’s needs and is coordinated with contributions from other European partners.
The funds will be transferred following the established procedures to ensure they are used for the intended purposes.
Emphasis will be placed on acquiring air defence systems, artillery shells, uncrewed aerial vehicles, and strengthening Ukraine’s naval defences.
The increase for 2025 will involve a temporary rise in withdrawals from the Government Pension Fund Global, reflecting the necessity to protect Norway’s fundamental security interests.
However, this does not imply any changes to the existing fiscal policy framework, the government noted.
Norway Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said: “We will continue to target our military support towards maritime security and air defence, ammunition, and drones and autonomous systems. In addition, Norway will be leading a collaborative Nordic-Baltic effort to equip and train a Ukrainian brigade-level unit.
“The various countries will be providing funding and military equipment. Norway is taking on primary responsibility for training, but other countries will also be contributing to this.”
The new allocation raises the total funding for the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine to Nkr205bn until 2030.
The programme, initiated on 16 February 2023 by Norwegian parliamentary leaders, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has received unanimous support from all political parties in the Storting.
Originally, the programme aimed to provide Nkr75bn over five years, with an annual disbursement of Nkr15bn.
Since its inception, the annual financial framework of the support programme has been increased multiple times.
In 2024, the support totalled Nkr27bn. By autumn 2024, all parties in the Storting agreed to expand and extend the programme through 2030, with a minimum yearly allocation of Nkr15bn.
Concurrently, the allocation for 2025 was raised from Nkr15bn to Nkr35bn, and the overall funding framework was increased to Nkr155bn.
With this latest funding increment, Norway’s overall support to Ukraine for 2025 has surged by Nkr50bn, amounting to a contribution of Nkr85bn for the year and elevating the total funding for 2023–2030 to Nkr205bn.
As a result, Norway’s defence spending in 2025 is projected to reach approximately 3.3% of its gross domestic product.
In 2024, Norway and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding to bolster military supply collaboration.
