After a couple of days in Madrid, Prime Minister Støre Ukraine’s capital arrived in Kyiv by train early today. He has visited hard-hit areas and promised significant support, including in the form of NOK 10 billion. Støre also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Presidential Palace. Zelenskyj says he is grateful for the financial support and calls Norway a true friend. – Bring the message to the rest of Europe about what you have seen, Zelenskyj told Støre. The visit was kept secret in advance for security reasons. CHARACTERISTICS: Støre talks to villagers who were stored in the basement of a school in Yahidne for almost a month. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news Met villagers who were held hostage for a month Støre was received by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the governor of Chernihiv, Vyacheslav Tsjaus. Chaus and Svyrydenko accompanied Støre through the town of Chernihiv and the village of Yahidne, northeast of Kyiv. The map shows the places Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visited in Ukraine, the city of Chernihiv and the village of Yahidne. The cities are located about 100 kilometers northeast of Kyiv. These areas near the border with Belarus have been hit hard by Russian attacks, especially at the beginning of the war. In Yahidne, 320 people were allegedly used as human shields in the basement of a school for a month. BOMBED HOUSING BLOCK: Støre stands in front of a bombed apartment block in Chernihiv together with Governor Vyacheslav Tsjaus and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sveredenko. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news – This is hell, really. That basement is a pigsty where people from up to the 90s to newborn babies were kept in captivity day after day. What happened here is simply cruel treatment of people, Støre told news after meeting some of those who were captured. Ukraine helped create the program and suggested places they want to show off. Deputy Prime Minister Svyrydenko himself comes from the area. Among other things, she took Støre to a hospital for heart patients who have been destroyed. – It is important that this is seen Prime Minister Støre’s visit is the second visit from an official Norwegian team. Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt was in Kyiv and met with President Zelensky in early May. Støre says the meetings he has now done in Ukraine are heartbreaking: – We can read this and see that happen, but it is very strong to meet the people. It was a young family who experienced that the grandmother died at the hands of those down there. This is happening in the middle of Europe in 2022, and no country can ignore it. LISTENING: Støre meets a person who was held hostage during a school in Yahidne. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news Støre says it is important to see what has happened in Ukraine so that Russia can one day be held accountable. – This is lived life laid in gravel. We have been to places now that have absolutely zero military value. Hospitals, apartment blocks, a school where people are attacked arbitrarily. Their homes have been looted. It tells of a warfare that Russia must take responsibility for. It is important that this is seen and noted so that there can once be a settlement around it. Gives NOK 10 billion Støre says the Norwegian support will be long-lasting. – What is clear is that this war will last a long time. What Norway will say now midsummer in 2022, is that we will line up over time, he says. Today it also became clear that Norway will increase its support for Ukraine by NOK 10 billion over two years. The money will go to humanitarian aid, reconstruction of the country, weapons and operational support to the authorities, it is stated in a press release from the government. The government refers to an estimate from the EU, which states that a reconstruction of Ukraine could cost several thousand billion kroner. The support must be coordinated with related countries and multilateral organizations. Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim says the financial support will be important, among other things, for Ukraine to be able to continue producing grain, and thus curb the global food shortage.
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