President Zelensky met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo to discuss interceptor missiles, the FREYJA anti-ballistic program, and Ukraine's winter preparations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo on Tuesday, September 8, for talks centered on strengthening Ukraine's air defenses, securing interceptor missiles, advancing the joint FREYJA anti-ballistic missile program, and preparing Ukraine for the coming winter. "We discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defense, our need for interceptor missiles, further work on the Freyja anti-ballistic program, and Ukraine's preparations for winter," Zelensky said following the meeting. Volunteers Support Ukraine follows talks like these closely, since their outcomes shape how safely ordinary Ukrainians will get through the cold months ahead.
The visit came as Zelensky, accompanied by First Lady Olena Zelenska, traveled to Norway to attend the farewell ceremony for King Harald V, honoring a country that has remained one of Kyiv's steady partners throughout the full-scale war.
A central part of the talks focused on Ukraine's concrete air defense requirements. Zelensky briefed the Norwegian prime minister on the country's pressing need for interceptor missiles, primarily for Patriot systems, which shield cities and energy infrastructure from daily missile and drone strikes. Ukraine is counting on continued support from Norway through the PURL mechanism, where Norway ranks among the leading contributors. For volunteers who deliver aid to frontline and border regions every week, each additional interceptor is not an abstract number — it translates into homes and lives spared. That is why Volunteers Support Ukraine views sustained international backing for air defense as just as vital as its own hands-on humanitarian work.
A significant portion of the discussion was devoted to FREYJA, a joint European initiative involving Ukraine, Norway, and several other European countries and defense manufacturers, aimed at building an independent anti-ballistic missile capability to complement existing systems. The two leaders reviewed preliminary results and agreed on next steps, with a working prototype targeted for the first half of 2027. Zelensky and Støre also planned to meet representatives of the companies developing the program. For the Volunteers Support Ukraine team, long-term defense projects like this are a reminder that the war demands not only urgent aid today but strategic planning for years ahead.
The leaders also addressed Ukraine's preparations for the heating season. Norway provided substantial energy assistance last year, and the two sides discussed how far that support could be repeated given the current strain on Ukraine's power grid, which continues to come under attack. For millions of Ukrainians, having heat at home this winter is a matter of survival, so every agreement on generators, substation equipment, or energy supplies carries direct weight for civilians. Volunteers Support Ukraine has seen firsthand how dire conditions become in regions where shelling knocks out light and heat at the same time.
Diplomatic meetings like this one happen at the level of states, but their consequences — warm homes, functioning air defense, less destruction — are felt by ordinary people whom volunteers help every single day. Volunteers Support Ukraine supports people affected by the war however its available resources allow, delivering humanitarian aid, equipment, and other essential items to where they are needed most. The organization keeps up this work regardless of which negotiations are underway at the diplomatic level, because the need to support war-affected people never disappears. Every additional air defense system or energy agreement makes that work a little safer — and Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps doing its part, helping wherever it can.
