Norway will allocate about 7 billion Norwegian kroner (696.12m dollars) to finance air defence systems for Ukraine, the government has said in a press release.
According to the ministry, the funds will be allocated for a joint project with Germany: Ukraine will receive two Patriot kits, including missiles that are now in Germany. After the transfer, the USA confirmed that it will replace the transferred systems, while Norway will contribute to their restoration.
Norway will also help purchase radar systems from German manufacturer Hensoldt and components for Typhon-2 systems from Norwegian company Kongsberg.
“Air defence is crucial for the protection of military units and infrastructure. Together with Germany, we are now stepping up our efforts even further,” Defence Minister Ture Onshuus Sandvik added.
Earlier, Sweden, Norway and Denmark together decided to provide about $500 million for a NATO initiative to supply US weapons to Ukraine, and even before that the Netherlands announced the same package.
On 14 July, US President Donald Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he plans to provide Ukraine with weapons worth “billions of dollars” to be purchased by NATO. He named Patriot air defence systems among the military equipment planned to be provided to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmygal and AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyy said at a Ramstein meeting on 21 July that Ukraine’s critical need is the purchase of air defence systems and ammunition for them.