Norway to send weapons to Ukraine, in change of policy

Reuters
·1 min read
FILE PHOTO: News conference on the war in Ukraine in Oslo

OSLO (Reuters) - The Norwegian government will send weapons to Ukraine, it said in a statement on Monday, the latest European nation to do so following Russia's invasion.

The decision overturns a Norwegian policy in place since the 1950s of not sending arms to non-NATO countries that are at war or at risk of armed conflict.

Norway will donate up to 2,000 M72 anti-tank weapons, the government said in a statement.

"Norway has strict policies regarding exports of military equipment, but Ukraine now faces extraordinary circumstances," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.

On Sunday, Norway announced it would pull its sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, out of Russia and promised to send helmets, bullet-proof vests and other equipment to Ukraine.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Hugh Lawson and Gwladys Fouche)