The funds will support the humanitarian efforts of the Red Cross Movement for Ukraine. Drone and missile attacks are part of everyday life for Ukrainians. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is causing extensive destruction and generating major humanitarian needs on an almost daily basis. 

Millions of people are in need of healthcare, protection, clean water, a new place to live and support for their livelihoods. The situation is particularly severe for people living near the front lines, in occupied areas, and for refugees and internally displaced persons who have lost their homes and means of subsistence. 

“Humanitarian needs in Ukraine are enormous, and the civilian population continues to pay a high price for Russia’s warfare. As long as this brutal war continues, we must do our utmost to save lives and help ensure that humanitarian actors can reach the war‑affected population with emergency assistance,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide. 

The Red Cross has 700 volunteers who have assisted nearly 350,000 Ukrainian civilians. For example, they can help the country’s emergency services evacuate people and escort them to ambulances. They can provide psychosocial support to those who need it, and can, for example, help the police cordon off and secure the area so that others do not get too close to buildings hit by drones, where they risk injury. 

The Red Cross Movement is present in Ukraine through the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). 

ICRC’s Director-General Pierre Krähenbühl took part on Friday in the two‑year anniversary marking of the Strategy for Norwegian Humanitarian Policy, together with Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust, at the House of Literature in Oslo. The theme was how best to shape Norway’s global humanitarian efforts in today’s global situation. 

“The Red Cross Movement plays an absolutely central role in the humanitarian response in Ukraine, and the ICRC is one of our most important partners. I particularly value the ICRC’s work to strengthen respect for international humanitarian law. That is why Norway is now providing a new, substantial contribution to their work,” said Foreign Minister Eide. 

“Through this cooperation, we have been able to help provide a large number of people with emergency assistance, life‑saving healthcare, protection, heating, and support for water and sanitation services,” he added. 

A key objective of Norway’s support is to strengthen humanitarian access. The Red Cross Movement operates in line with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, and has established dialogue with all relevant parties in order to deliver assistance across front lines. 

Humanitarian aid must be provided based on needs, and humanitarian actors must be granted safe and unhindered conditions for their work. This also applies in Russian‑occupied areas, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

Included in the new allocation is NOK 8 million for the Red Cross’s humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. 

Allocation of funds: 

  • NOK 195 million to the international Red Cross Movement’s response in Ukraine, of which  
  • NOK 160 million is allocated to the ICRC, and 
  • NOK 35 million to the IFRC. 
  • NOK 8 million to the IFRC’s humanitarian assistance in Moldova.