Representatives of the Government of Norway and the UN visit Northern Saltovka

The delegation included Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Tonje Brenna, Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion of Norway, Caroline Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, and Jaco Silje, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine.

As part of the visit, they visited North Saltivka in Kyiv district. There, 98 residential buildings were heavily damaged and destroyed as a result of hostile shelling. In addition, the enemy systematically shelled critical infrastructure facilities, the restoration of which also requires significant financial resources.

According to Mayor Igor Terekhov, some of the houses had to be dismantled as an expert assessment confirmed that they were unsuitable for restoration. Due to the destruction, the population of the neighbourhood has significantly decreased, but many Kharkiv residents are eager to return to their homes.

‘Some are already returning. Thanks to the support of international partners, including yours, a lot has been done in recent years to rebuild. However, the amount of work required is still enormous, because the scale of the destruction is enormous. It is important for us to bring back Kharkiv residents from other cities and countries, but we need to create the right conditions for this. The most important thing is to restore housing,’ said Igor Terekhov.

Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide noted that Norway will continue to provide unequivocal support to Ukraine, including Kharkiv.

‘Our parliament, all parties, unanimously supported the provision of long-term support to Ukraine. Moreover, over the past six months, we have doubled this financial assistance,’ he stressed.

In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andriy Sybiga, said that the Ukrainian government would work even harder to engage international partners in implementing projects to support Kharkiv.