Norway increases support for reconstruction efforts in Ukraine

‘Russia’s full-scale invasion has caused widespread destruction in Ukraine. Norway’s increased support to the World Bank’s Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Fund will help to ensure that critical services such as education, health care and energy supplies can be sustained. This is essential in order to maintain the resilience of the Ukrainian people and promote Ukraine’s reconstruction and reform efforts,’ said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

This week, Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust and Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg are participating in the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF in Washington, DC. The increase in funding for crisis response and reconstruction was conveyed to Ukrainian Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko during a meeting in Washington today.

‘This year alone, Norway will be providing NOK 85 billion to Ukraine. This support is crucial to enabling Ukraine to withstand Russia’s aggression. At the same time, the reconstruction of Ukraine also involves building robust institutions and a well-functioning democracy. This is why reform efforts and institution-building are priority areas under the multi-donor trust fund,’ said Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg.

The World Bank was quick to increase and adapt its support to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Norway actively supported the establishment of the URTF, and has been the largest contributor to the fund. Norway provided its first contribution of approximately NOK 1 billion in 2022 and has now provided over NOK 9 billion to the URTF – more than one-third of the total funding secured.

Norway’s support to the URTF is allocated under the multi-year Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine.

‘The war in Ukraine is having a severe impact on the daily lives of millions of Ukrainians. The homes of some 2.5 million families have been destroyed or damaged. In addition to this, people are having to deal with all the other impacts of the war and the disruption this brings to their lives. I am very pleased that the support Norway has provided via the URTF has yielded such positive results. The programmes under the fund have reached as many as 20 million people,’ said Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust.

Meetings are now under way in Washington to discuss how Norway and the other partners can provide the best possible support to Ukraine via the URTF.

Under the World Bank programmes, funding from Norway has been targeted towards the following areas:

Education: 380 000 pupils have been given better schooling as a result of upgrades and reforms in the school sector, and 12 000 children in remote areas have received free transport to school enabling them to continue their education.

Housing: 78 000 people have received support to rebuild and repair their homes.

Health: 5.2 million children have received vaccines, 6.2 million have been given access to primary and mental health care services, and 473 000 have participated in rehabilitation programmes.

Agriculture: 33 000 farmers have been given access to financing.

Energy: Equipment for emergency repairs to the energy grid has made it possible to restore electricity to millions of homes, and the delivery of critical equipment has facilitated the repair of district heating systems.

Budget support: Civilian employees in the social sector, such as nurses and teachers, have received their salaries and pensions, and social benefit payments have been maintained.

The Norwegian Government has recently proposed a substantial increase in Norway’s support to Ukraine, a significant contribution to Ukrainian and European security in this time of great global instability. Norway is increasing its support to Ukraine for 2025 by NOK 50 billion to NOK 85 billion. The additional funding will be used in its entirety to provide military support through international initiatives and procurements from the Ukrainian defence industry. Priority will be given to procurement of air defence systems, artillery ammunition and drones, as well as to enhancing Ukraine’s maritime capabilities. In addition, Norway will be leading a collaborative Nordic-Baltic effort to equip and train a Ukrainian brigade-level unit. The new allocation increases Norway’s overall funding framework under the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine to NOK 205 billion for the period 2023–2030. The additional funding will bring Norway’s defence spending in 2025 to an estimated 3.3 % of GDP.