Norway committed 5 billion Norwegian kroner (approximately $455 million) to supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition, the Norwegian government reported on 7 April.

The majority of the funds – 4 billion kroner (about $333 million) – will support the Czech initiative to procure artillery shells for Ukraine from worldwide sources.

An additional 1 billion kroner (over $83 million) will be channeled through the European Peace Facility (EPF) mechanism.

“Artillery ammunition is one of the key needs for the Ukrainian army,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said. “That’s why it’s important for Norway to contribute to replenishing Ukrainian ammunition stocks.”

This new assistance forms part of Norway’s recently announced increase of 50 billion Norwegian kroner in support for Ukraine in 2025. On 6 March, the Norwegian government and opposition leaders agreed to increase this year’s Ukraine funding to 85 billion kroner ($7.83 billion) – 50 billion more than the plan agreed upon in November 2024.

Norway has previously contributed to the Czech ammunition initiative in 2024. The country has also supported procurement of ammunition from Norwegian manufacturers in cooperation with other Nordic countries, transferred shells from its own stockpiles, and shared technology to enable licensed production of shells in Ukraine.

In February, Czech President Petr Pavel reported that the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells from third countries had delivered at least 1.6 million ammunition units to Ukraine. In March, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that at least 1.5 million more artillery shells could be delivered to Ukraine in 2025 under this initiative.

What is the Czech initiative

The Czech ammunition initiative began on 17 February 2024, when President Pavel announced at the Munich Security Conference that the Czech Republic had located 800,000 shells available for purchase outside the European Union. Pavel specified the ammunition could be delivered within weeks if funding was secured.

By 20 March, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský reported receiving the first 300,000 rounds under the initiative. On 21 March, Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski announced Poland would make logistical and financial contributions to the Czech-led plan.

Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová said 18 countries have joined the initiative, with 15 already allocating funds. The project currently aims to deliver 500,000 shells to Ukraine by the end of 2024. In October 2024, Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Zvarych revealed Ukraine had received over a third of these 500,000 rounds.

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