Norway has decided to increase military support to Ukraine this year by NOK 2.5 billion ($249 million) to NOK 10 billion ($950 million) as part of the previously adopted Nansen program on military and civilian support for Ukraine in the amount of NOK 15 billion annually, the Norwegian government said on its website on Tuesday.

"Ukraine is now in dire need of additional military support and materials. Therefore, Norway is increasing military support to Ukraine by NOK 2.5 billion to NOK 10 billion in 2023," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference on opening of the summit NATO in Vilnius.

In addition to this, Norway has also decided to increase the contribution to the NATO support fund for Ukraine to NOK 300 million ($29 million) annually.

"Norway is increasing its contribution to the NATO support fund for Ukraine. Norway will provide NOK 300 million in 2023 and will contribute a total of NOK 1.5 billion over five years. This is a clear signal of Ukraine's long-term support for reforms, which is still will connect Ukraine more with the Alliance," the Norwegian government's head said.

Støre also spoke about the decision to increase Norway's investment in its own defense to at least 2% of GDP.

The summit will also decide on the establishment of a NATO center for critical submarine infrastructure. "The war in Ukraine has shown once again that the protection of critical infrastructure is of great importance for security policy. As the largest supplier of gas to Europe, Norway has a special responsibility for the protection of underwater infrastructure... Now NATO is establishing a separate center for the protection of critical underwater infrastructure," the prime minister said.

According to Støre, the Vilnius Summit "will be the most important NATO summit of our time." "Among other things, we will undertake a historic increase in NATO's collective defense capability with regional defense plans that have been updated for the first time since the Cold War," he said.

The prime minister said the decisions of the summit will be important both for the entire Alliance and for the security of Norway, and there are at least four reasons why this summit is of decisive importance for the Norwegian state. "Firstly, it will strengthen NATO's ability to fulfill its key task, namely the protection of member states in times of crisis and war. Secondly, an increase in defense contributions means a clear increase in its own readiness, security and defense capability. Thirdly, at the summit a decision will be made to create a separate center for the protection of underwater infrastructure, which is of fundamental importance for Norway. And, fourthly, the membership of Finland, and now Sweden, means a stronger Northern Europe in NATO," Støre said.