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 [energy sales] 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, as the government proposed 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.
Moreover, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, pointed out that the aid is a part of a bigger geopolitical picture. “Our support is vital not only for Ukraine, but also for the safety and security of Norway and Europe as a whole,” he argued. While the allocations are welcomed in Brussels and Kyiv, Russia strongly condemned the decision. “Oslo continues to add fuel to the fire of the Ukrainian conflict,” the Embassy of Russia in Norway wrote as a response to the Norwegian government’s plans.
It has also been testing Norwegian airspace. Following Russia’s drone attack on Poland on September 23, Norway revealed three previously undisclosed violations of its airspace by Russian combat aircraft in recent months.
There have been mounting tensions between Norway and Russia, which share a 123-mile border in the High North. Ever since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and even more so after 2022, the two countries have repeatedly clashed in exchanges reminiscent of the Cold War.
In 2023, the Norwegian government expelled 15 Russian diplomats, calling them a threat to national security given their alleged status as intelligence officers. Additionally, pilots in Northern Norway report frequent jamming of communications systems, which are being traced to Russia.
The increasing tension between NATO and Russia has furthermore highlighted the military and strategic value of the archipelago of Svalbard, according to the Norwegian Intelligence Service. Svalbard, while under Norwegian sovereignty, has historically also hosted the Russian enclave of Barentsburg as part of the 1920 treaty, and friction in the archipelago has been rising in recent years. In 2023, a Russian separatist flag was waved during a parade headed by the Russian Consul General Andrei Chemerilo. More recently, in September, Russia was accused of bringing a police-looking car to the archipelago, a breach of Norwegian law.
While the treaty restricts the military use of Svalbard, Moscow now accuses Norway of ignoring these limits by allegedly including Svalbard in NATO military preparations. Norway sees this as unfounded and probably a direct response to its heightened support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Norwegian Police Security Service warns that Russian intelligence services are likely to conduct operations on Svalbard, including influence campaigns, to test the responses of the Norwegian authorities.
The Russian state propagandist TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov recently suggested that Norway should “disappear” while referring to the tensions regarding Svalbard. Such rhetoric, while typical for Russian state TV, simply underscores the deteriorating climate in Norway-Russia relations and the likelihood of further clashes to come.
Heine Sandvik Brekke is an Editorial Intern at CEPA. He is currently studying at the American University in Washington, DC. Heine is pursuing a degree in journalism and has worked in a variety of editorial roles, including at the daily newspaper Aftenposten. He also served in the Norwegian Army as a conscript in Northern Norway.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
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