Defence Minister Anita Anand used a visit to Ukraine on Wednesday (Jan. 18) to announce that Canada is sending another 200 armoured vehicles to help with the countryB次元官网网址檚 defence against Russian invaders.
The announcement was largely overshadowed by questions about whether Canada and its allies would acquiesce to UkraineB次元官网网址檚 request for even heavier equipment: tanks.
Anand revealed the governmentB次元官网网址檚 plan to purchase 200 armoured vehicles for UkraineB次元官网网址檚 military during a news conference in the capital Kyiv following a meeting with Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
The vehicles are being purchased from Roshel, a company based in Mississauga, Ont., at a cost of $90 million. Canada previously sent eight of the same Roshel-made Senator armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine last spring.
B次元官网网址淭he Senator APCs are security-task vehicles and I have heard repeatedly that Ukrainian troops appreciate their maneuverability and their adaptability,B次元官网网址� Anand told reporters while sitting alongside Reznikov.
B次元官网网址淭he vehicles also allow for the safe transportation of personnel and equipment and medical evacuations.B次元官网网址�
The vehicles are the latest military contribution from Canada since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, touching off EuropeB次元官网网址檚 largest conflict since the Second World War.
Reznikov was quick to thank Canada for the armoured vehicles as well as its other contributions, including an American-made surface-to-air missile system announced last week at a cost of around $406 million.
The Ukrainian defence minister said such air-defence systems were his countryB次元官网网址檚 top priority, as Russian missiles continue to rain down on civilian targets across the country, including a devastating strike on an apartment building over the weekend.
Reznikov also reiterated the need for main battle tanks, describing such heavy weaponry as critical to protecting the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and conducting counter-offensives against Russian forces.
B次元官网网址淭he main difference between the armed forces of Ukraine and the Russian armed forces is that we are trying to save the lives of our defenders and donB次元官网网址檛 use them as cannon fodder as the Russians do,B次元官网网址� he said in Ukrainian.
B次元官网网址淭herefore, for us, itB次元官网网址檚 crucial to provide our armed forces with so-called armoured fists, which will breach the positions of the Russian Federation armed forces during counter offensives and will save the lives of our defenders.B次元官网网址�
Allies have been wrestling with whether to send tanks to Ukraine, including Germany, which is facing pressure to not only send some of its Leopard 2 tanks, but to allow other countries that operate the same tanks to do the same.
That would include Canada, which has 112 Leopard 2s in several configurations in use by the Canadian Armed Forces. The tanks were acquired from Germany in 2007 during the height of the war in Afghanistan.
Reznikov said Finland and Poland both indicated their plan to send Leopard 2s to Ukraine and he expressed confidence that Berlin would come around when allied defence ministers gather Friday in Germany for a U.S.-led meeting on the war.
Anand would not commit to whether Canada would contribute some of its Leopard 2s if Germany allowed for their re-export, saying only that Ottawa B次元官网网址渨ill continue to provide Ukraine with the aid that it needs to fight and win this war.B次元官网网址�
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not rule out the possibility, saying earlier this week, B次元官网网址淲e will look at all the requests from Ukraine but weB次元官网网址檙e not there yet for the Leopard 2 tanks.B次元官网网址�
The federal government says Canada has contributed approximately $5 billion in military, financial and humanitarian assistance since Russian forces crossed into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Hundreds of Canadian soldiers are also training Ukrainian forces in Britain and Poland.
AnandB次元官网网址檚 visit to Ukraine came as officials there said the countryB次元官网网址檚 interior minister died in a helicopter crash near the capital that killed at least another 14 people, including other officials and three children.
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi oversaw UkraineB次元官网网址檚 police and emergency services. He is the most senior official to die since Russia invaded nearly 11 months ago.
His death was the second calamity in four days to clobber Ukraine after a Russian missile strike on an apartment building killed dozens of civilians.
There was no immediate word on whether WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 crash was an accident or related to the war. No fighting has been reported recently in the Kyiv area.
The apartment building strike and other attacks on civilians have helped stiffen international support for Ukraine as it battles to fend off the KremlinB次元官网网址檚 invasion. The winter has brought a slowdown in fighting, but military analysts say a new push by both sides is likely once the weather improves.
B次元官网网址� With files from The Associated Press.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
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