Canada will purchase a US surface-to-air missile system for donation to Ukraine as Russia’s invasion of that country enters its second year next month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed US President Joe Biden of the acquisition on Tuesday on the sidelines of the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico City.
According to the Department of National Defence, “this donation, valued at approximately $406 million, comes from the $500 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine announced by Prime Minister Trudeau on November 14 at the G20 summit in Indonesia.
The Prime Minister’s Office has indicated that this initiative would involve the purchase of an “advanced national surface-to-air missile system” from the United States, along with ammunition. The firm did not immediately provide a timeline for this assistance.
The decision to send this type of weaponry comes in response to the intensification of Russian airstrikes on cities, military sites and critical infrastructure such as power plants in Ukraine.
According to a National Defense press release, the “short-to-medium range ground-based air defense system” that Canada is about to purchase for Ukraine “protects against aerial attacks using drones, missiles and aircraft, and it has a high success rate”.
“We are committed to providing more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine,” Defense Minister Anita Anand said in a statement on Tuesday. Today, we are moving forward with Canada’s first donation of an air defense system to Ukraine. »
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his thanks to Trudeau, saying the gear will help protect his country’s citizens.
“Dear Justin Trudeau, your true leadership in the defense of democracy and human rights has once again been clearly demonstrated. Thank you for helping us protect our skies,” President Zelensky wrote.
In the past month, the United States and Germany have both announced plans to send such systems to Ukraine, while France has pledged tanks.
Moscow, which launched the war in Ukraine last February, called the military aid a provocation aimed at weakening Russia’s grip on the world.