Norwegian foreign minister visits Odesa
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide announced on April 17 that he visited Odesa as part of his official visit to Ukraine on April 16.
Barth Eide visited Odesa's port and said that he was "deeply impressed by the way Ukraine has been able to regain control and to ensure exports of grain to the world, despite constant Russian aggression."
Ukraine has managed to export over 36 million tons of goods via the Black Sea corridor set up by its Navy in August 2023 after Russia withdrew from the UN-brokered grain deal.
Barth Eide also met with Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper and visited the site of a residential building that was destroyed in a Russian drone attack in March, killing 12 people, including five children.
The foreign minister announced on April 16 that Norway has allocated 745 million Norwegian kroner ($67.9 million) to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
"Here in Odesa the attacks have escalated significantly," Barth Eide said. "The level of destruction and the immense suffering the war is inflicting on the Ukrainian people are devastating to witness."
The funds "will be used to provide life-saving assistance and access to shelter, food, water and sanitation, education, and health care for the most vulnerable groups, such as children, refugees and internally displaced persons," Barth Eide said.
Following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 15, the foreign minister said he visited an unnamed power plant in Kyiv Oblast with Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk.
Barth Eide noted that Kyiv Oblast's Trypillia Thermal Power Plant, which was destroyed in a Russian missile strike on April 11, was "rebuilt using Norwegian funding last year."
"We will help to rebuild the power plant again, if necessary," Barth Eide said.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
