Ukraine gets Norway pledge of $9bn for next year

Norway will give Ukraine $9 billion next year, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Sunday, as Baltic and Nordic leaders gathered in Kyiv in a show of support.

Store said Norway's support for Ukraine in 2027 would stay at this year's level, which he called a record high. Oslo said most of the money would go to Ukraine's military.

Kyiv is due on Monday to host a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, a French-British-led initiative, to discuss increasing support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia to halt its invasion before winter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that his army has a $27 billion deficit, without giving precise details. He urged the European Union to advance payments on part of a 90-billion-euro, or $105 billion, loan to cover the gap this year.

Zelensky warned that without about $10 billion by the end of the year, Ukrainian soldiers would not have enough weapons.

Kyiv has relied on tens of billions of dollars in support since Russia invaded in 2022 to keep its economy afloat and its army fighting. The invasion has destroyed large parts of the country, displaced millions of people and killed thousands of civilians.