(OTTAWA) Less than a week after buying an anti-aircraft defense system from Ukraine, Canada is opening the door to sending in Leopard tanks that Kyiv is asking for from its allies.
Without going so far as to promise that Ottawa would send a shipment of Leopard 2 family tanks it has in stock to Ukrainian soil, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signaled that his government would look into the matter.
“We will look at all the necessary requests; there are steps to follow before we get there, but we are here to provide what is necessary for Ukraine to be able to beat Russia, ”he said at a press briefing in Manitoba on Monday. .
the Globe and Mail reported Sunday that the Ukrainian government will soon officially ask the Canadian government to send it some of its Leopard battle tanks as soon as Berlin drops its opposition to the re-export of German-made equipment.
Canada has 112 tanks of the Leopard 2 family of vehicles, which are the most used tanks by the Canadian Armed Forces as well as several other NATO countries, according to information from the Department of National Defence.
“These heavy and heavily protected armored vehicles provide a tactical advantage in terms of mobility, firepower […] and provide direct fire support on the battlefield,” according to the ministry.
In an interview with the Globe and MailMykhailo Podoliak, a plan adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, claimed that the latter, “who has a friendly relationship with the Prime Minister of Canada”, would ask him for heavy tanks when the bureaucratic obstacles in Berlin are removed.
Just under a week ago, Canada purchased a National Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) from Ukraine. The cost of this military equipment is estimated at 406 million dollars. The money was taken from the additional military aid package of 500 million to Ukraine announced last November.