Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere officially announced Monday at a news conference that the country’s military alert was raised, according to Reuters.
“The military will as of tomorrow raise its preparedness in Norway,” Stoere told reporters.
The decision came in response to Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine.
Norway shares its border with Russia in the Arctic and is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“This is the most severe security situation in several decades,” Stoere told reporters. “There are no indications that Russia is expanding its warfare to other countries, but the increased tensions make us more exposed to threats, intelligence operations and influence campaigns.”
Norwegian military forces were deployed to guard the country’s offshore drilling platforms as well as its land-based facilities following sabotage on September 26 that caused massive leaks in the Nord Stream underwater energy pipeline. Naval forces from the UK, France and Germany have joined the effort with Norway to protect the pipeline.
Norway is now the largest exporter of natural gas to the European Union as a result, supplying the EU with at least 25 percent of its energy imports. Protection of those resources has become paramount following the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.
Nevertheless, Stoere subsequently clarified there is no “real and immediate threat” that prompted the decision.
“We currently have no reason to believe that Russia wants to involve Norway or any other country directly into the way, but the war in Ukraine means it is necessary for all NATO countries to be increasingly on their guard,” he said.
The alert, expected to last for one year, includes consolidation of the country’s ground, air, and naval forces.
Armed forces are expected to spend less time training and more time deployed on operational duties, Defense Minister Bjoern Arild Gram told reporters. A joint F-35 stealth fighter jet training event in the United States was called off, with the country’s combat pilots and their aircraft instead ordered to stay home in Norway, according to General Eirik Kristoffersen.
