Justin Trudeau has announced new military funding of U.S. $ 500 million to Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Canada – Justin Trudeau, on Saturday, June 10, 2023, announced U.S. $ 500 million new military aid for Ukraine during his trip to Kyiv.
The announcement comes when Ukraine is preparing for a counteroffensive against Russian forces. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member Canada, which has one of the world’s largest Ukrainian diasporas, has supplied military and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded it in February 2022.
Canada would be extending Operation UNIFIER to 2026, providing significant capacity for the Canadian Armed Forces to respond to urgent Ukraine training needs. Canada will contribute to multinational efforts to train pilots and maintain and support Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets. Canada will also contribute to Poland’s Leopard 2 tank maintenance centre. It will also provide 288 AIM-7 missiles to be re-purposed in the United States (U.S.) for use in air defence systems, which will support Ukraine in its efforts to defend its skies. Canada will provide 10,000 rounds of 105mm ammunition from existing funding to Ukrainian Armed Forces. Canada has delivered 78 vehicles to Ukraine and will soon offer 122 Roshel vehicles in the coming weeks.
Taking it to Twitter, Trudeau tweeted,
We’re providing new funding for military assistance and extending Operation UNIFIER – Canada’s military training and capacity building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – to 2026. We’re also moving forward with seizing Russian assets, and imposing more sanctions.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 10, 2023
Thanking Trudeau, the President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted,
Grateful to Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau and all the people of Canada for their support in the fight against Russian aggression and the new defense package. Weapons and rounds, in particular the important 155mm. Air-to-air missiles. Training of our pilots and a coalition of…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 10, 2023
Canada is allocating U.S. $ 10 million in new funding for immediate response to the flooding caused by the Russian forces’ destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam. It is also redirecting U.S. $ 37.5 million in previously earmarked funds for Ukraine to support organisations responding to the needs of people in flood-affected regions. Canada is also committed to providing additional resources for post-flood reconstruction.
To respond to the lasting mental health toll of the war on Ukrainian citizens, Canada is funding projects to support mental health initiatives in Ukraine. This includes U.S. $ 64,000 to help individuals in the Dnipro region facing mental health challenges. Canada will allocate approximately U.S. $ 52,000 to support teachers and children in the war-affected areas of Ukraine through educational courses and mentorship. It will give the U.S. $ 50,000 towards the healing of war traumas for the local leaders of communities in Ukraine’s educational programme. In addition, there is a funding of U.S. $ 99,500 to help medical personnel in the Kharkiv Region cope with traumatic war experiences.
The recent announcements made by Trudeau build on Canada’s commitment of over U.S. $ 8 billion in funding towards financial, military, humanitarian, development, and immigration assistance to Ukraine. Besides, the Budget 2023 extends a U.S. $ 2.45 billion loan to the Government of Ukraine for this year to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.
