As Norway’s defense spending and support for Ukraine sharply increase, Russia has taken notice.
At the start of this year, Norway came under attack. Not from a hostile power, but from its traditional Nordic friends. How, they asked, could Oslo benefit so much from rising oil and gas prices following Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine, while giving back so little in financial and military aid?
In neighboring Denmark, in particular, some figures argued that Norway was not doing nearly enough.
“I think the Norwegians should do the decent thing and send, if not all, then much of that money to Ukraine,” a Social Democratic Party politician told a major Danish newspaper in January. The newspaper Politiken asked: “Dear Norway, how can you look yourself in the eye?” and pointed out that Denmark had provided double the Ukraine aid without the benefit of a $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund.
The all-out war in Ukraine beginning in 2022 triggered huge disruption and a subsequent energy crisis in the global market. With Russia shutting down energy supplies to pressure Western Europe, Norway opened the taps on its North Sea gas fields, becoming the continent’s top supplier in 2024.
The Norwegian Finance Ministry estimated a gas revenue surplus of 1.27bn krone (about $128bn) combined for 2022 and 2023. Norway’s 2023 Ukraine aid figure was 19bn krone.
The pressure grew. The second Trump administration’s coolness toward Europe and NATO caused widespread soul-searching across the continent, and worries that Russia would be emboldened to increase hostile action. Suddenly, Ukraine’s war seemed closer to home.
All of which happened just as Jens Stoltenberg stepped down as NATO Secretary General and became the finance minister back in Oslo. He was immediately questioned as to whether Norway was unfairly profiting from the Ukraine war, something he denied in a February interview. Stoltenberg pointed to Norway’s role in supplying Europe with gas, but notably said his country was willing to do more.
A month later, Norway massively increased Ukraine funding. For 2025, assistance has been tripled to almost 85bn krone, a decision endorsed by all nine parliamentary parties. The country is also fast increasing defense spending, with a 21% rise for 2025 — new projects include F-35 jets from the US and five frigates from the UK.
The Ukraine funds will go to international initiatives and purchases from Kyiv’s defense industry. The support may remain the same next year, in August. If approved, the overall funding for Norway’s Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine (2023-2030) will rise to a total of 275 billion krone.