UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Mar 27 — Norway, along with all European countries, feels that the pressure on Russia should be maintained until we see some real progress towards peace, said Espen Barth Eide, Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to journalists during his visit to Kharkiv. 

Earlier, Moscow claimed it’d agree to a partial ceasefire (ban on attacks on the Black Sea and at energy infrastructure) only in case Western countries lift sanctions from Russia. While the White House is contemplating agreeing to lift some of them, the EU Commission said that Russian “unconditional withdrawal” from Ukraine would be a condition for changing sanctions or lifting them. 

“We do not think it’s a good idea to relax sanctions now,” Espen Barth Eide said. “We will work with our close friends in the EU to uphold the pressure on Russia and argue that everybody could also do that because sanctions do work. There is a war economy in Russia, but there are a lot of things that are being hampered by sanctions—access to important Western technology, for instance, and to Western markets.” 

Kharkiv is a city in Ukraine’s northeast, located about 20 miles from the Russian border and constantly attacked by Russian missiles, drones, and glide bombs. Last spring, Russian air attacks almost completely destroyed Russian energy infrastructure. 

A delegation that included Espen Barth Eide, Tonje Brenna, Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion, and Jaco Cilliers, UNDP Resident Representative to Ukraine, came to Kharkiv to transfer a solar power station from Norway to one of the city’s cardiology hospitals. Solar panels will help the healthcare institution to function without interruptions during possible energy blackouts.  

UPD from 11:47 a.m. on Mar 28, 2025: Norway transferred to Kharkiv solar power station, not solar panels.

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