Norway will assist in the training of Ukrainian soldiers

News story | Date: 28/09/2022 | Ministry of Defence

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Norway’s Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram confirmed at the 11August donor conference for Ukraine, in Copenhagen, that Norway will contribute to training of Ukrainian soldiers in Great Britain.

- The Ukrainian forces need additional training and education. Norway will contribute instructors to the UK initiative to train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK. Alongside several other countries, we will send instructors to assist with training in basic soldiering skills, says the Norwegian Minister of Defence.

Gram confirmed today that Norway will contribute to the training of Ukranian soldiers in the UK during the Ukraine donor conference in Copenhagen Credit: Monika Mariskova, Slovakian MoD

Norway is also positive towards an Icelandic initiative to establish a training- and capacity-building project for the clearing of explosives for Ukraine.

- The clearing of explosives in Ukraine is very important, both for the Ukranian Armed Forces but also specifically to increase the safety of the civilian population – both now and after the war ends. The Norwegian Armed Forces have valuable knowledge in this field, and can contribute in the work to develop this concept further, says Gram.

Nordic Def Mins — Gram and Swedish defence Minister Petter Hultqvist, during the donor conference for Ukraine in Copenhagen. Credit: Monika Mariskova, Slovakian MoD

Close coordination

The aim of the international donor conference #CopenhagenUkraine is to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and Northern and Eastern European countries in order to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion.

- We must continue the close-knit Western cooperation so that the support to Ukraine is as useful and efficient as possible. We must continue to train and equip the Ukrainian forces, and provide financial support so that they can continue their fight for freedom and independence, says Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram.

The Norwegian government is continuously considering new Norwegian contributions to Ukraine.

Regjeringen vurderer fortløpende nye norske bidrag til Ukraina.

Ukrainian solidiers gets training in Germany — Norway has also previously trained Ukrainian soldiers on how to use the M109 artillery gun that Norway donated. The training took place in Germany. Credit: Frederik Ringnes, Norwegian Army

Coordination, predictability and sustainability
The Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, the British Minister of Defence Ben Wallace and the Danish Minister of Defence Morten Bødskov hosted the meeting.

- At the meeting today, I addressed what I think are three main points for the work to come: coordination, predictability and sustainability. It is important that we continue to cooperate and coordinate the support for Ukraine closely with our allies. We also have to take a step away from donating systems from our own inventory, and move towards purchases directly from the defence industry. In order to do so, we must make sure that there are funds for these acquisitions. We will stand by Ukraine as long as it takes. At the same time, the Ukrainians must build their own capacity for leading and planning, and Western countries must help them in doing so, says the Minister of Defence.

For more information on the British-led training-initiative:
UK to offer major training programme for Ukrainian forces as Prime Minister hails their victorious determination - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)