Ukraine’s PM to visit Canada seeking arms for counteroffensive

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal plans to visit Canada to hold negotiations regarding the supply of ammunition and armored vehicles, The Globe and Mail reports.

Shmyhal is visiting Canada in the coming weeks, but for security reasons, the Ukrainian government is not divulging the date of the trip.

The Canadian government's 2023 budget, unveiled in March, offered a new $2.4 billion loan for Ukraine but little in the way of additional military aid. In the past 12 months, however, Ottawa has provided more than $1 billion in military gear to Kyiv.

Shmyhal said he is not concerned about the lack of new military aid allocated for Ukraine in the federal budget and remains hopeful that Canada will provide more military aid anyway, among other forms of assistance.

"Now, we need heavy armored vehicles. And we need more artillery shells: ammunition for howitzers and ammunition for tanks. […] It's crucially important for the organization of our counteroffensive," he said.

Ukraine would also like the Canadian government to offer war risk insurance to Canadian companies investing in Ukraine as part of an effort to support rebuilding and foreign investment there.

Shmyhal noted that Ukraine needs countries such as Canada to help pave the way for more foreign investment – and that includes special insurance to reduce the financial risk of operating in a war zone.

In March, Canada transferred German-Dutch-made Bergepanzer 3 armored support vehicles based on the Leopard 2 tank.

Earlier, the state announced it would provide Ukraine with about 8,000 155 mm caliber ammunition. Canada would also transfer 12 anti-aircraft missiles from its stockpile to support air defense systems.

Ottawa will also transfer more than 1,800 105mm tank training rounds to Kyiv to boost the batch of Leopard 1 tanks from Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.