The Department of National Defence says Canada’s donation of an air-defence system to Ukraine is in the midst of clearing one final administrative hurdle with the U.S. government.
A spokesperson says Ukraine and the U.S. are finalizing a letter of acceptance that will confirm delivery timelines for a surface-to-air missile system Canada pledged to pay for more than a year ago.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been ramping up the pressure on allies to provide more air support for the embattled country.
“Our entire diplomatic team, everyone in charge of communicating with partners, and all Ukrainian representatives around the world are fully committed to ensuring the delivery of additional air defence systems and ammunition,” he said in a Jan. 4 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ukraine says the medium-range missile systems are critical to defending its territory from Russian bombardment. They’re capable of taking down aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
Zelenskyy also posted on Jan. 1 about a conversation he had with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying “I am grateful to Prime Minister Trudeau for his willingness to assist us in protecting the Ukrainian sky, particularly by providing additional NASAMS systems and missiles.”
It is not clear whether Zelenskyy was referring to the system Canada agreed to pay for last year, or if the two spoke about a new donation. The Prime Minister’s Office refused to clarify.
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