Norway commits €268 million for Patriot missiles for Ukraine
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (photo: Getty Images)
Norway will allocate 3 billion kroner, about 268 million euros, to strengthen Ukraine's air defense. The funds will be used, in particular, to purchase missiles for Patriot systems, according to the Norwegian government.
Norway, together with Denmark, Germany, and Canada, will order new missiles directly from a factory in the United States under the PURL program.
The Norwegian government clarified that the delivery times for some of these missiles are long.
Norway plans to purchase them from countries that already have these assets available for the fastest possible delivery to Ukraine.
"Ukraine's battle to defend itself is our battle as well. Ukraine is facing Russian attacks every day. Russia is continuing to carry out air strikes against civilians, Ukrainian cities, and critical energy infrastructure. Ukraine is managing to stop most drones and cruise missiles," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
Norway is also allocating funds so it can join Ukraine's initiative for the joint development of anti-ballistic systems with Europe.
Air defense for Ukraine
Defense Ministry adviser Serhii Beskrestnov (call sign Flash) previously reported that Ukraine currently effectively has no missiles to intercept Russian ballistic targets.
He also explained that countries sharing a border with Russia assess the threat from it as high, so they are not ready to transfer their own stocks of such ammunition to Ukraine. Among them, in particular, is Germany.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the summit in Türkiye, one of the main issues would be strengthening Ukraine's air defense, in particular, obtaining Patriot air defense systems.
At the same time, Ukraine received a large aid package from Canada to protect its skies. In addition, additional defense assets are expected to arrive soon.
