Norway on Monday announced $242 million in new military aid to Ukraine, including help to secure access to the country’s vital Black Sea ports.
“It is necessary to protect the Ukrainian population and Ukrainian infrastructure from attacks by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storey said in a statement. “It is also important to protect exports by sea of grain and other products, which generate important revenues for Ukraine.”
The aid also includes funding for the training of Ukrainian troops as well as mine clearance operations.
Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gramm said mines in the Black Sea are a “significant threat” and the aid would help Ukrainian forces locate and disarm mines near the coast.
Ukraine’s military said on Monday it shot down 27 of 49 drones deployed by the Russian military in overnight strikes.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the intercepts occurred in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytsky and Sumy regions.
Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said power lines were damaged by debris from the destroyed drone, but there were no injuries.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that its forces destroyed three Ukrainian aerial drones in the Kursk region.
Some information for this story was provided by Reuters
