Norway has officially joined the Air Defense Coalition for Ukraine, initiated by France and Germany. This coalition aims to strengthen Ukraine's air defense to protect civilian populations from Russian airstrikes.
The Norwegian government’s press service announced this decision.
“It is entirely natural for Oslo to be part of such a coalition for air defense, as Norwegian NASAMS air defense systems successfully protect Ukrainian skies”, said Norwegian Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram.
Norway is also allocating €140 million to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine outside the European Union countries. This funding fully supports an initiative started by the Czech Republic, Canada, and Denmark to provide Ukraine with 800,000 rounds of ammunition within a few weeks.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre hopes that Ukraine will receive the ammunition as quickly as possible. He emphasized that air defense is one of Ukraine’s priorities as it is essential for protecting military facilities, cities, and critical infrastructure.
In addition to the Air Defense Coalition, Norway is already participating in two other initiatives to enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities. These include the Maritime Coalition, led by Norway and the United Kingdom, and the F-16 Coalition, through which Norway provides Ukraine with its F-16 fighter jets and trains Ukrainian pilots and engineers.
Photo: open sources
