Canada will contribute $76 million to a German-led initiative to raise funds for air defence systems that will be sent to Ukraine, the Canadian and German defence ministers announced Friday.
Defence Minister Bill Blair and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed a letter of intent for the contribution to Germany’s Immediate Action on Air Defence initiative after a joint meeting in Ottawa.
Ukraine has ‘right to strike back’ at Russia, UK foreign minister says amid new £3B aid package
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in February, on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, that Canada was committing just over $3 billion in military and financial aid to Ukraine for 2024. Canada has committed $4 billion in military aid since the war began, and defence officials say most of that aid has been delivered.
NATO allies have been ramping up their commitments in military aid to Ukraine in recent weeks, particularly after the U.S. approved a new $61-billion aid package after months of delay.
In the time it took to get that aid passed, Ukraine has run low on ammunition and missiles while Russia has amassed its own military capabilities, and Moscow’s army has begun retaking some territory in Ukraine’s east.
The U.S., along with the U.K. and other allies, have begun sending long-range missile systems to Ukraine that have the capability of striking within Russian territory. In response, Russia announced this week it would begin practicing deploying tactical nuclear weapons during military drills, once again raising the spectre of escalating the conflict into a nuclear one.
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