Canada joins Ukraine’s drone coalition

Canada is joining international efforts to strengthen the Ukrainian fleet of combat drones, according to the Canadian Ministry of Defense, Rubryka reports.

"To further develop Ukraine's drone capabilities, Minister Blair committed to Canada joining the Ukraine Defense Contact Group's Drone Capability Coalition, co-led by Latvia and the United Kingdom. As a member of the Capability Coalition, Canada will continue to look for ways to boost Ukraine's drone capabilities," the statement said.

The department noted that Canada had already transferred over a hundred specialized cameras for drones to Ukraine and last month announced the transfer of over 800 drones of Canadian production.

Latvia initiated the drone coalition during a meeting between its Defense Minister Andris Sprūds and Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umierov in December 2023.

Latvia's Defense Minister Andris Sprūds stated that the Baltic country was creating a coalition with nearly 20 countries to arm the Ukrainian military with "thousands" of new drones.

Sweden's Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist recently announced during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on January 23 that Sweden would join this coalition.

Also, the United Kingdom announced its intention to join the coalition and become its co-leader along with Latvia.

Besides Latvia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, and the Netherlands have already joined the coalition.

During a visit to Kyiv on March 7, the UK Defense Minister, Grant Shapps, announced a £325 million in funding ($440 million) for the purchase of over 10,000 drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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.

As part of its military assistance package, Canada plans to transfer 800 SkyRanger R70 drones to Ukraine, valued at $95 million.

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.