Briefly
- Venstre and MDG ask PM Støre to open oil fund to support Ukraine after new attacks.
- They are calling for more arms support and believe Norway should play a leading role.
- The government claims that Norway has already contributed significantly and points to new measures, but the opposition believes that is not enough.
With him on his trip to the NATO summit in Washington, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (AFP) receives tough demands from the opposition:
The Liberals and the Greens are demanding that Store take the lead in increasing support for Ukraine after attacks on a children's hospital, among other things, on Monday.
Venstre asks Støre to launch a Norwegian arms initiative for Ukraine and spend up to NOK 200 billion.
– It is not difficult for Norway. Our expectations from Støre are that we must take a leading role in achieving the industrial mobilization to produce the weapons and military equipment we need in Europe to support Ukraine, Ola Elvestuen from Venstre tells Dagbladet.
Støre is believed to be looking for other countries.
– We have the financial means, but we always put ourselves in the middle. Denmark and Sweden are far ahead of us, while we have the resources.
large-scale air strikes
– Simple math
The largest children's hospital in Kyiv was hit by Russian missiles, killing two people and wounding 16. According to the town's mayor, seven of them were children.
In all, at least 41 people were killed and 166 others injured in Monday's Russian attacks, which are among the worst yet.
Russia denies attacking the hospital and claims that Ukrainian missile debris caused the destruction.
The Liberals and the Greens believe that the Oil Fund should be opened to Ukraine.
The MDGs see the attacks on the children's hospital as a result of Norway's failure to provide adequate support to Ukrainian defence and air defence.
“It’s simple math,” Rasmus Hansson of the Millennium Development Goals told Dagbladet: “If we had given the support the Ukrainians needed, these children would not have been killed.”
Hanson believes that Norway, which has made a lot of money from gas in the war, morally owes Ukraine another $1 trillion.
The MDGs want to discuss how the oil fund could be used directly to support NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's initiative to create an international fund for Ukraine.
– We cannot be content with providing less than other countries at the same time that more and more civilian targets are being destroyed in Ukraine because the Ukrainians lack air defense.
NATO summit closely followed
– I have done a lot.
Dagbladet has submitted criticism to the Prime Minister's Office (SMK) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
– Norway has done a lot to support Ukraine's defense against Russian occupation, but we must do more. That's why the government has invited all parties in parliament to talks about extending the Nansen program, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Eivind Vad Petersen wrote (AFP) in an email.
The Nansen programme has allocated NOK 75 billion in support over five years. The government points out that Norway also has a ten-year security agreement with Ukraine.
“We are working closely with many of Ukraine’s supporters internationally on how best to support Ukraine. Today the government is announcing an agreement with Namo that will double the production of artillery and missile ammunition that Ukraine will benefit from. Norway has recently made significant contributions to air defense and has provided another 1 billion kroner for electricity, which is urgently needed across the country,” Petersen wrote.
let the kids talk
News of the Nammo deal came at a NATO summit on Tuesday, as the deadly attack on Ukraine cast a shadow over planned celebrations of NATO's 75th anniversary.
– We also believe that Russia should compensate for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. That is why we have joined the EU regulations to use the extraordinary return of frozen Russian Central Bank funds to support Ukraine.