Norway drops $200 million lifeline into Ukraine’s budget—10 million pensioners teachers and emergency workers rely on it

Norway will provide Ukraine with $200 million in budget support through the World Bank’s PEACE project to help civilians, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has announced. She has welcomed the decision, emphasizing its importance for sustaining the state during wartime.

Importantly, all project operations undergo regular audits and monitoring, and citizens can report payment delays, ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of funds.

“We are sincerely grateful for this timely contribution to maintaining macro-financial stability and the uninterrupted operation of key public services — this is an example of Norway’s leadership,” Svyrydenko notes.

Millions of beneficiaries and key services

The PEACE project aims to support core government functions and finance critical services across Ukraine.

Among its beneficiaries are approximately 10 million pensioners, 500,000 education workers, 145,000 civil servants, 56,000 emergency responders, and more than 3 million recipients of social assistance and internally displaced persons.

This mechanism enables the state to consistently pay pensions and salaries and maintain the functioning of the education and healthcare systems, even during wartime.

Tens of billions in support: PEACE as financial backbone 

According to Svyrydenko, since its launch in 2022, the PEACE project has mobilized nearly $52 billion for Ukraine.

Of this amount, $13.4 billion has been allocated specifically for pension payments.

In addition, the project has helped keep schools operating, ensure the provision of medical services, and support salary payments for public sector employees, including university lecturers and civil servants.

Earlier, Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe drove to Ukraine to hand over cars to soldiers who need them to survive.

Euromaidan Press reported last November that Russian drones are now destroying Ukrainian military vehicles faster than volunteers can replace them, and that volunteers, not the state, supply an estimated 95% of the cars Ukraine’s army depends on for resupply, evacuation, and troop movement.