Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Feb. 24, exactly a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, that Canada will be sending an additional four tanks and one armored recovery vehicle to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The four Leopard 2 main battle tanks that will be sent are in addition to another four that were already given to Ukraine earlier this year, which Defence Minister Anita Anand announced in late January.
Trudeau told reporters in Toronto on Feb. 24 that members of the Canadian Armed Forces are currently training Ukrainian soldiers how to use the tanks and also said Canada will be sending an
additional 5,000 rounds of 155 millimetre ammunition.
Trudeau
further announced that Canada is imposing new sanctions on 122 individuals and 13 entities “complicit in Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” which he said includes including Russian ministers, Russian military members, and “those involved in the production of artillery and weapons used in Ukraine.”
“We’re also banning certain chemicals used in the manufacture of electronics from being exported to Russia,” he said.
Anand defended the low number of tanks Canada was sending to Ukraine when she announced its first donation of four Leopard 2s on Jan. 26.
“It’s not just symbolism,” she said. “Canada’s contribution is continually being assessed in terms of the ability to get the spare parts necessary to make sure that these tanks can be maintained.”
At the time, Canada had 82 Leopard 2 tanks in its inventory.
Earlier in January,
Anand also announced Canada would be sending 200 armoured vehicles to Ukraine worth $90 million and also an American-made surface-to-air missile system worth around $406 million.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by
announcing on Feb. 24 that Canada will be pledging another $32 million to Ukraine for “security and stabilization efforts.”
The funding includes $7.5 million for demining equipment, $12 million for countering “chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats,” and $13 million for “accountability efforts.”
Andrew Chen and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
