Norway to send M72s to Ukraine
Ukraine will receive 2,000 M72 weapons. (Photo: Norwegian Armed Forces/Anette Ask)
In a policy U-turn, the Norwegian government is to send weapons to Ukraine.
The Norwegian government has decided to donate up to 2,000 M72 Light Assault Weapon disposable antitank rocket launchers to Ukraine via Poland, state-owned broadcaster NRK reported on 28 February.
Norway had previously confined its support to a NOK2 billion ($230 million) humanitarian assistance package plus helmets and bulletproof vests — but the government rapidly changed tack.
‘The government has decided this afternoon that Norway will offer Ukraine arms support to defend the country against the military attack from Russia. We are thus on the same line as close allies and the other Nordic countries,’ said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
He added: ‘Norway has a restrictive practice for exporting defence materiel, but Ukraine is now in an extraordinary situation.’
Norway joins a growing number of European countries to provide infantry weapons to Ukraine to help it fight against the Russian invasion, but this trend has not gone unnoticed in Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement on 28 February to warn of ‘dangerous’ consequences for countries supplying Ukraine with weapons.
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