Non-EU member Norway said on Tuesday that it will join Brussels' sanctioning of Russia over Ukraine and will host major NATO exercises in March as planned.

"The situation in Ukraine... is at a dramatic level," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told journalists in Oslo.

"Yesterday was a turning point," he said, in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin recognising the independence of two Ukrainian breakaway regions.

The premier was to travel to Brussels later on Tuesday, where he planned to have Norway join in the sanctions the bloc is imposing on Russia.

"It is important to react firmly to what has happened over the past day," he said.

Store also said that NATO's "Cold Response" military exercises will take place in the second half of March in Norway as previously planned.

Some 35,000 soldiers from 28 countries are due to participate in the biennial drills.

Moscow had been informed of the exercises and invited to send observers, as usual, Store said.

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EU agrees sanctions that will 'hurt' Russia
Paris (AFP) Feb 22, 2022
EU members on Tuesday agreed a package of new sanctions against Russia that aims to inflict severe damage on the country after its recognition of breakaway regions in Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief said. The 27 members of the EU unanimously agreed the measures at an informal meeting in Paris on the sidelines of an international forum, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. The sanctions will also target Russian parliament members who backed recognising the breakaway regions as indepen ... read more