President Volodymyr Zelensky and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met with heads of defense companies from partner nations in Oslo to push forward the FREYJA anti-ballistic missile program – a defense initiative aimed at building alternatives to the US-made Patriot interceptors.
Zelensky detailed the meeting in a statement on Wednesday, Sept. 9, saying the talks brought together leadership from companies including FirePoint (a Ukrainian company that initiated and leads the FREYJA program), Kongsberg, Weibel, Saab, Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, Thales, Safran, Sener, and Leonardo.
The discussions covered what governments and manufacturers each needed to deliver going forward.
“The main topic was the FREYJA anti-ballistic program, which can provide Europe with integrated protection against aerial threats through the joint efforts of Ukraine, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom,” Zelensky said.
“Protecting European skies is our shared cause,” he continued.
Norway’s role in protecting Ukraine’s skies
Norway allocated NOK 85 billion ($9.2 billion) to Ukraine under the Nansen Support Program for 2026, including NOK 70 billion ($7.6 billion) in military assistance and NOK 15 billion ($1.6 billion) in civilian and humanitarian aid.
Oslo has also proposed maintaining the same NOK 85 billion ($9.2 billion) level of assistance next year, with most expected to go toward military support.
Building on prior agreements
The most recent meeting on Wednesday followed a broader visit that began on Tuesday, Sept. 8, when Zelensky and Støre held talks focused on Ukraine’s air-defense needs, interceptor missile supplies, and preparations for the upcoming winter.
The discussions centered on expanding Ukrainian-Norwegian defense cooperation agreed to less than three weeks earlier, during Støre’s visit to Kyiv on Aug. 23, when the two leaders signed an Agreement on Defense and Security Cooperation under the Drone Deal format.
Zelensky and Støre also signed a declaration establishing the Ellisiv Accord strategic partnership.
“I am grateful to Norway for hosting this meeting. Thank you to our partners for their willingness to work together,” Zelensky said in his latest statement.
Separately on Monday, Russia threatened to take unspecified “additional measures” in response to Norway’s expanding military presence along its northern border following Norway’s establishment of an artillery battalion. Norway has defended the buildup as necessary for modern defense, citing the war in Ukraine.
Although European officials stated there is no intelligence indicating Russia is preparing for a conventional military attack on NATO or the Baltic states, many member states have deliberately increased their defenses in case Russia’s aggression spreads beyond Ukraine’s borders – particularly as hybrid attacks from Russia escalate.
A fifth winter of war
The upcoming winter will mark Ukraine’s fifth winter since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, prompting Ukrainian authorities to reassess and intensify their winter preparations across all sectors.
This year, Russia is expected to shift its winter campaign away from targeting only Ukraine’s power grid, including heating and electricity, toward targeting water infrastructure as well.
At the same time, Ukraine continues to rely on foreign partners for the delivery of Patriot interceptors, which are the only weapons system that can intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
Zelensky’s trip to Oslo came just hours after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone barrage on Kyiv, killing five people and injuring 35 in strikes on civilian infrastructure. The barrage began just as senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left the country, following meetings that centered on brokering an end to Russia’s war.
“Our priority right now is the winter package,” Zelensky said in a statement on X. “The main issue is strengthening air defense and assistance in other areas important for getting through the winter.”
On Tuesday, Ukraine announced it was signing contracts with partners for the supply of about 1,000 Patriot missiles for its air defense systems ahead of the winter.
Germany said it would urgently transfer PAC-2 missiles to Ukraine from its own Bundeswehr stocks.