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How Norway’s Modern Day Vikings Became One of Ukraine’s Biggest Allies
Less than a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Norwegian lawyer Ole Kvåle was on the road, driving his own car into a country at war. Packed inside were bulletproof vests, helmets, laptops, and walkie-talkies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He had no ties to Ukraine—only the conviction that he could not stand by as Russia invaded a sovereign European neighbor. That first journey would change Kvåle's life and the lives of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.
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How can one man’s decision to act turn into a convoy of nearly 560 vehicles for Ukraine’s defenders?
"I was overwhelmed with how unfair this was," Kvåle recalls. "I see it as a black-and-white war. There is one aggressor and Ukraine as the victim. I wanted to do something."
Today, alongside running his legal practice full-time, Kvåle leads Ukrainian Freedom Convoys (UFC), one of Norway's largest volunteer organizations supporting Ukraine. Since co-founding the NGO in 2023, he has helped procure, equip, and deliver hundreds of vehicles, including medevacs, to brigades defending some of the hottest sections of the frontline. On April 25, 2026, he delivered vehicle #500 east of Dnipro. Just two days later, he received word that it had been used to evacuate soldiers after a Russian FPV drone attack.
Kvåle's story is part of a much larger one.
Home to just 5.5 million people, Norway has become one of the world's strongest per capita supporters of Ukraine. Through the cross-party Nansen Support Programme—a long-term military, humanitarian, and financial framework—the country has allocated more than $8.5 billion for Ukraine in 2026 alone. The program now extends through to 2030, bringing Norway's total commitment to roughly $30 billion, with the majority of Norwegians in favor of upping current aid.
Yet Norway's support goes beyond decisions made in the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) and opinion polls. Across the country, volunteers like Kvåle are raising funds, restoring vehicles, and driving them thousands of kilometers to the front, transforming individual determination into one of Ukraine's most remarkable international support networks.
Addressing his team after the 37th convoy handover in Kyiv, deputy convoy leader Jan Ottesen captured the organization's spirit and commitment: "Norway's Vikings will continue to stand with Ukrainian Cossacks until the end."
From Oslo City Hall to Eastern Ukraine: the city councilor turned convoy leader
Today, UFC is a 4500-strong network of volunteers that has conducted 37 convoys and delivered 559 vehicles. One of those volunteers is Lars Petter Solås.
Solås, an Oslo city councilor, has driven in ten convoys, leading five of them since 2023. He doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. He first began paying attention to Ukraine in 2008, following Russia’s war against Georgia. He was sure that Russia’s neocolonial ambitions would not end there, and his suspicions proved correct in 2014 and again in 2022. Since February 2022, Solås has used his position as a member of the Oslo City Council to fiercely advocate for Ukraine and “Ukraine’s just fight for liberty and freedom.” For him, this fight is “vital to Norway, Europe, and the Western values of freedom and self-determination.”
Solås was immediately struck by the sense of community—a network that stretches nearly 3,000 kilometers from Oslo to Ukraine’s eastern front—and joined the team. Over the years, the nonprofit has grown into an efficient ecosystem of Norwegian and Ukrainian volunteers working tirelessly to provide Ukraine’s brigades with essential supplies.
Behind every convoy is an extensive logistical effort coordinated by Øystein Klingenberg Hansen in close cooperation with Mariia Dushenko, originally from Donetsk, who manages planning and operations alongside her full-time job in IT.
The Norwegian volunteer drivers come from every corner of society: plumbers and electricians, business executives, students in their 20s, pensioners in their 80s, and even a retired admiral of the Royal Norwegian Navy. Each volunteer pays their own way, often using their annual leave to join a convoy, choosing to spend their summer driving over 2,200 kilometers to Kyiv rather than taking a holiday.
Norwegian politicians get behind the wheel—literally
Solås has also inspired others to get involved. In March 2026, he recruited fellow Oslo City Council member and Mayor Anne Lindboe to join the convoy as a driver. Lindboe drove Car #433, named STRIKE in honor of a fallen Ukrainian soldier, all the way from Oslo to the handover in Kyiv.
Solås and Mayor Lindboe are not the only Norwegian politicians to support UFC. Car #517, INE, was named after Ine Eriksen Søreide, leader of Norway's Conservative Party. The vehicle was funded through donations collected by local party members, and Søreide herself painted its name before it departed for Ukraine.
Under Søreide's leadership, the Conservative Party has been among the strongest advocates for expanding Norway's support for Ukraine, calling for sustained military assistance, stronger air defenses, and long-term security guarantees. Søreide led the Norwegian delegation to Ukraine earlier in the year and emphasized, “The support Norway is now providing must be long-lasting.”
Furthermore, members of the Storting, Vebjørn Gorseth of the Labor Party, Kari Sofie Bjørnsen, Tonje Anderson Olsen, and Tage Pettersen, all of the Conservative Party, have volunteered as drivers in UFC convoys to Ukraine. Guri Melby, leader of the Liberal Party, crowdfunded the purchase of two UFC vehicles: Car #339, FREEDOM, and Car #481, VICTORY. Labor Party local politician Håkon Einarsve also volunteered as a convoy driver, delivering Car #519, TOMCAT, together with Gorseth.
The participation of politicians from across Norway's major political parties—from Conservative to Liberal to Labor—underscores the broad national consensus behind supporting Ukraine. The work of UFC has become a cause that unites Norwegians across the political spectrum.
28 cars + 51 volunteers + 3000 km: Norwegian convoy #37 arrives in Kyiv
Vilde, an engineer from Oslo who completed sergeant training at the Norwegian Army Non-Commissioned Officer school, joined the convoy with her partner, Frederik Håland. Together, they delivered Car #517, INE, named after Søreide, a Mitsubishi L200 pickup for the 27th Separate Artillery Brigade, to be used for logistics on the Sumy front.
The couple decided to participate in the mission because they “fully support and respect the Ukrainian people’s fight to protect their freedom and their future.”
What is happening in Ukraine concerns all of Europe. Ukraine is not only defending its own sovereignty, but the democratic values and principles that Europe is built upon today.
Vilde and Frederik
Vilde and Frederik feel it is their duty to help as they deeply admire the resilience, courage, and, most importantly, the sacrifices of the Ukrainian people.
Waiting for them in Kyiv was "Rudolph," a soldier from Sumy, who arrived at the handover with his wife and pet dog. He admitted he didn't expect the moment to feel so emotional. “It was incredibly moving to realize that people from another country care so deeply that they are willing to give their time and energy to support us,” he said. “For that, I felt immense gratitude.”
For “Rudolph,” the Norwegian volunteers who funded and delivered the vehicles are a true expression of compassion and solidarity. “Even though the war has not affected them directly, they made a conscious decision to stand with Ukraine,” he shared in a follow-up from the front line. “It means that we are not forgotten and that we are not being left to face this alone. This kind of support is especially important today because it gives us strength and confidence to keep moving forward.”
Today, the truck is already being used for combat-related tasks: delivering food, fuel, and other essential supplies, as well as transporting soldiers to their assigned positions, helping move soldiers between positions, and carrying out other equally important missions.
“Rudolph” thanked Vilde, Frederik, and everyone who made the delivery possible, saying, “To us, this is more than just material assistance—it is a sign that we are remembered and that people believe in us. We truly appreciate your compassion, your help, and your support. Thank you for standing with Ukraine during this difficult time.”
For Vilde and Frederik, speaking to the soldiers and hearing their stories firsthand is humbling and only further strengthens their commitment to continue advocating for Ukraine. Ukrainians’ courage deserves not only their admiration, but also continued support in their opinion.
HOPE EXPRESS begins life-saving evacuations
Åsmund Støversten from the coastal city of Ålesund is a seafarer, and like Kvåle, had no previous connections to Ukraine. Still, he decided to join the 37th convoy that departed from Oslo on June 26, 2026, to do something practical to support Ukraine. For Støversten, delivering a vehicle for use by the Armed Forces felt like a meaningful way to help.
“Talking to the soldiers during the handover made me realize just how important these vehicles are,” he said. “Ordinary people can help by contributing in their own way. It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Støversten drove Car #525, HOPE EXPRESS. Soldiers of the 143rd Separate Mechanized Brigade received a medevac vehicle.
In the last year, nearly all their evacuation vehicles had been destroyed in Russian FPV attacks. The soldier who received the medevac on behalf of the brigade shared that there is a cemetery of destroyed military and civilian vehicles in Kostiantynivka from similar attacks.
The soldier, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said he was impressed by the volunteers who gave their time and risked their safety to deliver vehicles to strangers in another country.
“If it had not been the work of volunteers from the very first days, it’s unclear where the enemy would be now and what the fate of Ukraine would be,” he said.
Volunteer support is crucial to counteract Ukraine’s equipment losses. Thanks to the work of UFC, Norwegian donors, and drivers like Støversten, the 143rd Separate Mechanized Brigade can continue to evacuate their wounded from the battlefield and save lives.
Last driver standing
Following the handover of the 27 vehicles, the soldiers departed for their positions in the east, while the 50 volunteers involved in the operation headed home to Norway. All but Solås.
After ensuring that everyone had safely arrived at the train station, the convoy leader took the last remaining vehicle and set off for Sumy. From there, he drove to Kharkiv, where he spent two nights with soldiers from the 125th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, before heading to Dnipro.
There, Solås handed over the convoy’s last car, #555 VARYAG, to a soldier in the 118th Mechanized Brigade who would take it to Pokrovsk in the Donetsk Region.
After a short trip to Lviv and Mykolaiv, Solås will return home on August 1. But while the convoy has reached its destination, UFC’s mission has not. Back in Norway, he will continue to advocate for stronger support for Ukraine from local and national authorities, champion City Council initiatives to protect Ukrainian culture and history, and prepare for the next convoy he will lead. Because for those who have experienced Ukraine firsthand, returning home is never the end of the journey—only the beginning of the next one.
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