Canada Unable to Provide More Weapons to Ukraine as Inventory ‘Exhausted’: Defence Minister

A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces looks at destruction following a shelling in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv on March 8, 2022. Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images

Canada has exhausted the weapons it can provide to Ukraine, says Defence Minister Anita Anand.

“I believe that we have exhausted inventory from the Canadian Armed Forces to the extent that we are able to provide weapons,” Anand told host Vassy Kapelos on CBC’s Power & Politics on March 16.

“There are capacity issues that we need to make sure we are on top of for the purposes of ensuring the Canadian Armed Forces is well resourced.”

Anand made the comments while in Brussels attending a meeting of NATO defence ministers.

So far Canada has provided military equipment to Ukraine to the tune of $82.8 million according to the Department of National Defence (DND).

The lethal aid includes 4,500 M72 rocket launchers, 7,500 hand grenades, 100 Carl Gustav anti-tank recoilless rifles with 2,000 rounds of ammunition, machine guns, pistols, and carbines with 1.5 million rounds of ammunition.

Many other countries have also provided military hardware to Ukraine, with the U.S. leading the way. Washington announced on March 16 it would send an additional $800 million in equipment that will include more anti-tank weapons and air defence systems, as well as 100 drones.

Anand said managing the needs of Canada’s military and of Ukraine is a “balancing act,” and her government is looking at other options such as working with other allied countries.

Ottawa announced in recent days that it was providing Ukraine with drone cameras. Anand said those are not only for reconnaissance but to help with drone strikes.

“The cameras actually allow precision with those strikes,” she told Kapelos.

On March 16, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was going to continue providing military hardware to Ukraine.

“We will continue to stand up and support Ukraine with humanitarian support, with refugee support, but also with equipment—military equipment, and lethal equipment as well,” Trudeau said while making a funding announcement at a Honda plant in Alliston, Ontario.

Trudeau did not mention supply and inventory for the Canadian Armed Forces in the remarks.

“We’re going to continue to get as much equipment as we have that they can use as possible. The challenging supply lines, getting things into Ukraine, are an issue that all of NATO is facing right now,” he said.

British military intelligence said on March 17 that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is largely stalled on all fronts, with Ukrainian forces offering a staunch resistance.