After last week’s massive bombing of the capital Kyiv, 70 percent of the city’s residents were without electricity. Now the situation is somewhat better, but there are still large areas in Ukraine that do not have a stable electricity supply. In Donetsk and Luhansk, the authorities fear that there could be a winter without electricity and heat. – Vladimir Putin is making no progress on the battlefield. That’s why he uses the cold as a weapon. He takes access to electricity from ordinary Ukrainians. That is why Norway has given money to buy gas, so they can get through the winter. And we also contribute material so that they can have the infrastructure that is bombed to pieces repaired, says Huitfeldt to news in Kyiv. She refers to the agreement which obliges Norway to contribute NOK 2 billion to buy gas for Ukraine this winter. In addition, one billion will go towards repairing the infrastructure. Together with her Nordic (apart from Denmark) and Baltic colleagues, she will visit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday. SEVEN: Seven Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers in place in Kyiv (Dane’s Jeppe Kofoed stayed at home because of the government negotiations). Photo: Torstein Georg Bøe / news Want to help more It is the Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Reinsalu, who has taken the initiative for the joint Nordic-Baltic visit. The largest international delegation to visit Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country on February 24 this year. news met Reinsalu on the night train to Kyiv. – I think we have to change the paradigm in supporting a Ukrainian victory. The Western world has gradually provided more sanctions and more weapons. But it has not been enough to end the war. Putin believes that a longer war is in his interest, so we must get more intense arms delivery and stronger sanctions and further isolation of Russia, he says. WANT TO TURN: Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu in the train carriage on the way to Kyiv. Photo: Torstein Georg Bøe / news – Your Estonian colleague wants the Nordic and Baltic countries to increase their efforts towards Ukraine now. How does Norway relate to that? – Now we will provide humanitarian aid. We also have to start thinking about rebuilding Ukraine after this as well. And we have to plan for that already now, even if the war is still going on. Also, we must also provide more weapons. It’s about them having to be able to stand up to this militarily, says Huitfeldt. – Will Norway provide more weapons? – We assess it on an ongoing basis and announce it when weapon deliveries are forthcoming. Humanitarian crisis In the wake of winter’s arrival in Europe and thus also in Ukraine, the humanitarian challenges are also becoming bigger and clearer. According to the UN, almost half of the Ukrainian population now needs humanitarian assistance. 8 million people have fled and 6.5 million have been internally displaced, especially from the areas closest to the front line to areas in the west of the country that are considered safer. CHURCH VISIT: The Minister of Foreign Affairs lit a candle in St. Michael’s Cathedral, which has been an important gathering place for Ukrainians both before, but not least after, Euromaidan and the outbreak of war in 2014. Photo: Torstein Georg Bøe / news – It is a desperate situation we are now witnessing to. Many here face a grim choice; to flee or to freeze. The Russian warfare is unparalleled cynicism, says Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt. Huitfeldt believes it can get worse before it gets better for the Ukrainians. – Ukraine will win the war. But the worst is not over. Putin has such major setbacks on the battlefield, so the worst may be ahead of us, she says.
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The worst may be ahead of us – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
