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UKRAINE

Which Nordic country has taken in the most Ukrainian refugees?

Over 165,000 displaced persons from Ukraine have been granted temporary protection in the Nordic countries during the last nine months.

Which Nordic country has taken in the most Ukrainian refugees?
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and the Baltic and Nordic countries (minus Denmark) at a press briefing in November 2022. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO / POOL / AFP

A new report from the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR breaks down the number of Ukrainian refugees granted asylum by each of the Nordic countries since their country was invaded by Russia in February.

The report is based on materials including interviews with authorities in each of the countries in the Nordic region.

Sweden is the Nordic country to have taken in the most Ukrainian refugees, with a total of 47,700. Second is Finland with 43,000, followed by Denmark with 34,700.

Norway has granted asylum to 31,000 Ukrainians and 1,700 are in Iceland.

Sweden is also the most populous country in the region with around 10.4 million people as of 2021. Denmark has just under 6 million people, with 5.4 million living in Norway.

The populations of Finland and Iceland are 5.5 million and 370,000 respectively.

The refugees taken in by each of the countries are granted protection under either national laws or the EU’s temporary asylum directive from 2001, which has been used for the first time in response to the war in Ukraine.

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Why is Denmark treating Ukrainian refugees differently to those from Syria?

“Even though we want a quick end to the war, we must assume the conflict could be protracted and that many Ukrainians will stay here,” the report’s author, Anna Berlina, said according to Danish news wire Ritzau.

The temporary EU directive, which was activated on March 4th, was recently extended until March 4th 2024. According to the report, the EU is likely to further extend its directive until March 2025.

The directive requires EU member states to comply with a number of minimum criteria relating to access to health services, the labour market and education.

Denmark’s Ukrainian refugees are covered by a special “Ukrainian law” (Ukrainerlov) adopted by parliament in March.

Berlina said a long-term strategy is needed for refugees from Ukraine.

“This shows the necessity for a long-term plan for how we can best help Ukrainian refugees that have come to the Nordics,” she said.

READ ALSO: Denmark could see new influx of Ukrainian refugees 

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UKRAINE

Norway plans ‘significant increase’ in aid to Ukraine

Norway, proportionally one of the largest donors to Ukraine, is considering a "significant increase" in aid, the Nordic country's foreign minister said Monday.

Norway plans 'significant increase' in aid to Ukraine

Norway has so for pledged some 75 billion kroner ($6.8 billion) in military and civilian aid to be distributed between 2023 and 2027.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre this weekend hinted that the amount could be increased.

“We’re talking about significant increase, I mean that is really relevant also compared with what we’ve done so far,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told an Oslo press briefing.

The minister, who visited Ukraine last week, added that they had not yet decided on a precise sum.

Ukraine, which is short on ammunition and recruits, has recently struggled on its eastern front in the face of a Russian offensive.

But it received a shot in the arm this weekend when the US House of Representatives adopted a $61-billion-dollar aid plan after drawn-out negotiations.

“The alarm bell has sounded across the West … The sense is that we all need to do more and that nobody has done enough,” Barth Eide said.

“We have to actually look into how this ends strategically, and Russia winning is not an option,” he added.

Norway — a major oil and gas producer that has benefited greatly from surging prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — is one of the main contributors to Ukraine, according to a ranking by the Kiel Institute.

While in Kyiv, Barth Eide announced that Norway and Ukraine had agreed to a security deal which would be signed at the next meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Norway’s Gahr Støre — though a date has yet to be announced.

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