Ukraine has been sent 22 M109 howitzers from Norway, the Nordic country’s defense ministry announced on Wednesday. The weapons were donated complete with gear, spare parts and ammunition, the statement said.
The M109 is a 155mm tracked self-propelled gun that was first introduced in the 1960s and has an effective range of between 20-40km, depending on the shells used. Each requires a crew of four to operate.
Norway confirmed it has already trained Ukrainian soldiers on how to use the weapons at a facility in Germany.
The contribution was made possible by Oslo rearming its own military with new Korean artillery pieces, the ministry added. The weapons headed to Kiev come from a stockpile of discontinued arms. Norway purchased Korean K9 155mm howitzers in 2017 and is currently negotiating more deals with Seoul.
Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram called the donation “a substantial contribution and one that is very much in demand by Ukraine”. Norway previously supplied M72 LAW single-shot anti-tank weapons, Mistral anti-aircraft missiles, protective gear, and other equipment to Kiev.
The statement said the howitzers had been shipped from Norway but didn’t say if they had arrived in Ukraine yet.