5 April, 2024
Norway does not rule out sending troops to Ukraine.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stated this in an interview with Evropeiska Pravda.
He noted that in the long run he would not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, although there are no such plans at the moment.
The Minister noted that the talks about the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine were not really about combat units, but about support, training, advisors, etc.
“We have no plans to send troops at the moment. I don’t think many countries have such plans. But on the other hand, in the very long term, I don’t think we should rule anything out,” he said.
Illustrative photo of Norwegian soldiers. Photo from open sources
According to him, NATO wants to support Ukraine at a level where Ukraine succeeds and Russia fails.
“However, there is no desire to be a direct party to the war, because it could lead to a world war, which we do not want,” the Minister said.
Deployment of Western troops in Ukraine
Militarnyi reported at the end of February that high-ranking officials in the Netherlands, Estonia, and Lithuania did not exclude the possibility of sending their military to Ukraine.
Officials of the countries stressed that such assumptions were linked with support personnel who would provide training, help set up processes, and do other work without being involved in hostilities.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that all options were on the table to help Ukraine defeat Russia.
Kestutis Budris, Chief National Security Advisor to the President of Lithuania, stated that his country was considering sending its instructors to Ukraine, but the priority was to support them with weapons and ammunition.
Estonian and Ukrainian soldiers at an exercise, March 2023. Source: EDF
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas also spoke about the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine to conduct exercises. His counterpart, Dutch Defense Minister Onno Eichelsheim, also expressed his opinion on sending his troops to Ukraine.
As previously reported, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to speak about the possibility of sending his military to Ukraine.
He noted that there were currently no specific plans to deploy troops, but emphasized that such a possibility should’ve been part of a policy of strategic ambiguity to show Russia that Western countries were ready to take decisive action.
To reiterate Ukraine’s stance in all of this, the country never asked for foreign boots on the ground. All it wants are weapons and ammo and leeway. It must get enough, the right stuff, on a timely basis, and its hand untied from its back regarding attacks on the shithole. If this could finally be achieved, Western troops can stay home. Ukraine will do what’s necessary.
“However, there is no desire to be a direct party to the war, because it could lead to a world war, which we do not want,” the Minister said.”
They won’t be sending any.
He’s just towing the line that only Macron threatens to disrupt.
In any case, Norway’s army is tiny.
What they do have though is money : shitloads.
It would not hurt them to donate from their sovereign wealth fund; which is vast for a small country, due to their enormous energy reserves.