Canada ready to send its troops to Ukraine to train soldiers
Canada says it is open to sending a limited number of military personnel to Ukraine.
However, Canadian forces will not engage in combat but are willing to train Ukrainian soldiers, Rubryka reports, citing the Canadian Minister of Defense Bill Blair's interview with the Toronto Star.
He said the idea of sending military personnel was discussed earlier this week in Paris, where he was present. Although Canada, like many other NATO countries, opposed French President Emmanuel Macron's idea.
Blair mentioned a possible non-combat mission for Canadian military personnel involving sending a limited number of servicemen to train Ukrainian defenders in Ukraine, provided such an operation is far from the front line.
The security agreement between Canada and Ukraine, signed last weekend, provides that Canada may conduct training activities in Ukraine "when conditions permit."
This agreement establishes a 24-hour emergency response mechanism in the event of renewed military aggression against Ukraine and also provides assistance to the war-torn country in strengthening its own capabilities to respond to a possible escalation of Russian aggression properly.
The document is valid for ten years from the date of its signing and provides for the possibility of partner review in case of Ukraine's accession to NATO before the expiration of its term.
NATO sending soldiers to Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting in Paris on February 26, where presidents, prime ministers, and ministers from 28 countries discussed further support for Ukraine.
After the meeting, Macron did not rule out that NATO would deploy troops to help Ukraine, but there is no consensus on this issue.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also did not rule out the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. In turn, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said France could send its troops to Ukraine to assist in various tasks but not combat. However, Poland and the Czech Republic are not considering sending troops to Ukraine.
A White House representative told Reuters on February 26 that the United States has no plans to send troops for combat operations in Ukraine, and NATO also has no plans to send troops for combat operations in Ukraine.
Moscow angrily reacted to Macron's statements, warning that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that all his statements about Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine — including the possibility of sending Western troops, which caused a resonance — were carefully considered.
What we know about Canada's aid for Ukraine
Despite being located far from Ukraine, Canada, along with the United States, has supported Ukrainians in the aggressive war initiated by Russia.
Overall, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Canada has allocated over $9.7 billion in financial aid to Ukraine, including $2.4 billion in military support.
On February 14, Canada announced it would provide CA$60 million (approximately US$44 million) for Ukraine's defense.
Specifically, the country has provided Leopard 2 tanks, anti-aircraft defense systems, artillery for armored vehicles, and ammunition. Additionally, 200 Senator armored vehicles, which Canada had previously promised to transfer to Ukraine, have already been produced. Ukrainian military personnel have also received a batch of modern armored vehicles.
Since Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on over 2,600 Russian individuals and entities.
At the end of October, representatives of Canada proposed to create a coalition of countries to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children abducted and deported by Russia.
