Ukraine, Russia | A large majority of Norwegians will continue their support for Ukraine

Last year, the Storting adopted a historic support package for Ukraine, the Nansen programme. Through the programme, Norway provides Ukraine with military and civilian support of NOK 75 billion spread over five years.

An opinion poll, carried out by InFact on behalf of the Norwegian-Ukrainian Friends Association, now shows that 73 percent of the population will maintain or increase their support for Ukraine. 18 percent would increase it significantly, 28 would “increase it somewhat” and 28 percent believe it should remain as it is today.

– This shows that after two years of war, support for Ukraine is still strong among the Norwegian people, says Jørn Sund-Henriksen, leader of the Norwegian-Ukrainian Friends Association.

At the same time, 12.7 per cent say that they will either reduce or discontinue the support altogether, while 14 per cent say that they do not know.

– As the results show, it is quite clear that many Norwegians want to increase Norway’s assistance to Ukraine. Not only that, many will also increase it significantly. Norwegians’ views should be reflected in the decisions taken by the authorities, and making this happen is a main priority for our embassy, ​​writes the Ukrainian ambassador to Norway, Ihor Holovchenko, in an email to Nettavisen.

The oldest most positive

The figures show that it is the oldest Norwegians who are most positive. Of those over 65, 53 per cent believe that the support should be increased, and only 6.7 would like to discontinue it. In the 18-29 age group, the situation is reversed. Here, 8.2 per cent believe that the support should be increased significantly, while a whopping 10.1 per cent would like to discontinue it completely.

– One of the interesting results from the survey is that it is the older generation that will give more support to Ukraine. Maybe it’s because they remember the evil empire of the Soviet Union.

There are also differences in terms of gender. Men believe to a greater extent that the support should be reduced (15.5 per cent compared to only 9.8 per cent among women). Men are also far more confident in their case (barely 1 in 10 are unsure, compared to slightly more than 2 in 10 women).

– It is in the best interest of Norway, Europe and the world to help Ukraine for as long and as much as is required for us to win the war. It is the only possibility to prevent Russia from plunging the entire continent into war, writes the Ukrainian ambassador.

– Norway already gives large sums, isn’t that enough?

– You are absolutely right that Norway gives a lot, and we are very grateful for that. But to be able to meet Russia’s great resources and stop their military machine, we depend on predictable support from Norway and other partners of Ukraine all over the world, writes Holovchenko.

– The suffering does not stop

The Norwegian-Ukrainian Friends’ Association feels that there is a growing debate about whether Ukraine should enter into peace negotiations with Russia. They believe it is clear that the Norwegians want Ukraine to get the support they need to be able to defend themselves against the invasion, and to throw Russian forces out completely. Even if the fighting ended today, occupation is not an option for Ukraine, says Sund-Henriksen, who visited the war-torn country in February.

– The suffering does not stop if the war does. Russian occupation means removing everything Ukrainian. Those who do not submit tend to disappear. Therefore, Ukraine wants to take back the occupied territories, and we should make them capable of doing so, says Sund-Henriksen.

The Northerners at the top

Northern Norway is the part of the country which, to the greatest extent, will significantly increase support (21.1 per cent against 15.9 per cent in southern Norway).

The danger of a major war in Europe, which also involves Norway, has changed the perspective on the war in Ukraine, the association believes.

– I think more and more people understand that there is a direct connection between the war in Ukraine and our own security situation. A year ago, arms support to Ukraine was seen as solidarity. Now it is clear that it is also a very cheap and effective investment in our own security, concludes Sund-Henriksen.

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