OTTAWA-
Canada is sending military trainers to the UK to help teach Ukrainians how to fight the invading Russian forces.
Defense Minister Anita Anand announced the plan on Thursday, saying up to 225 members of the Canadian Armed Forces will eventually be based in Britain for an initial period of four months.
There they will work alongside counterparts from Britain, the Netherlands and New Zealand to train Ukrainian soldiers in the basics of soldiering.
“Training missions like this, helping our allies and partners when they’re under attack, that’s what we do,” Anand told a virtual news conference. “It is a priority for us as a country to stand side by side with Ukraine and with our allies.”
The move comes nearly six months after Canada suspended its previous training mission in Ukraine just weeks before Russian forces invaded the country in February.
It also came hours before Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada was supposed to publicly express her country’s disappointment with Ottawa’s decision to allow the return of pipeline equipment that was at Montreal for repairs to a Russian energy giant.
Ukraine’s military has been mounting a fiery defense of its country since thousands of Russian forces launched their assault on February 24. But these early successes on the battlefield and the bitter war that followed in the east were not without cost.
The Ukrainian government announced in June that 10,000 of its soldiers had been killed since the invasion by Russian forces, with thousands more wounded and missing.
Officials also said that between 100 and 200 Ukrainian soldiers are killed every day and hundreds more injured.
Canadian troops continued to work with their Ukrainian counterparts even after the suspension of the previous training mission known as Operation Unifier, including teaching them how to use the four M777 howitzers that Canada donated earlier this year. .
But while a limited effort, Thursday’s announcement represented a full resumption of Operation Unifier, which also included 225 Canadian coaches.
It also follows British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s first proposal in June that his country host a training mission on its soil.
“When we halted our military training and capacity building operations in Ukraine as part of Operation Unifier in early February, I pledged to resume those operations whenever possible,” Anand said.
“Canada is committed to meeting Ukraine’s defense needs in the short, medium and long term. So I am announcing today that we are keeping our promise to resume full-scale training on Operation Unifier.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace welcomed Canada’s decision.
“I am delighted that the Canadian Armed Forces is joining the growing international effort to support the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the UK,” Wallace said in a statement.
“Canada’s expertise will give a new impetus to the program and ensure that Ukrainian men and women who come to the UK to train to defend their country will gain a vast pool of experience and skills from British forces and our international partners.
The first 90 Canadian soldiers from CFB Edmonton are expected to leave for a military base in southeastern Britain next week, according to Anand.
There they and others will work with their Ukrainian counterparts for an initial period of four months, teaching them how to use their weapons as well as first aid, basic tactics and military law.
Canada first launched a mission, along with Britain and the United States, to help train Ukraine’s military after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and began supporting pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukraine.
The federal government says the mission helped train more than 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers before all Canadian troops were evacuated ahead of the Russian invasion.
In April, Russia sanctioned the six former Operation Unifier commanders, which some saw as proof of the mission’s success.
Anand also announced an agreement between the Canadian government and General Dynamics Land Systems, based in London, Ontario, for the delivery of 39 brand-new armored vehicles to Ukrainian forces over the next few weeks.
“These vehicles will be delivered straight from the assembly line to meet some of Ukraine’s most urgent battlefield needs,” she said. “We’re also outfitting these vehicles with additional state-of-the-art armor and machine guns.”
Western allies have donated billions of dollars in weapons and military equipment to Ukraine since mid-February, with Canada contributing $662 million in anti-tank and sniper rifles, drones, armored vehicles, artillery and in ammunition.
The donations have raised concerns that military equipment is ending up on the black market or being used for unintended or illicit purposes.
While Canada is not participating in ongoing discussions with Ukraine on tracking such equipment, Anand acknowledged the importance of ensuring that weapons supplied by Canada are used for their intended purpose.
Anand said she discussed the issue with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in January, “acknowledging that this is an important issue for Canada and for Canadians.”
The minister, meanwhile, dodged a question about the government’s decision to grant Siemens Energy an exemption from sanctions imposed on Russia to allow the return of a turbine to Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Kyiv has previously said the move sets a dangerous precedent by undermining sanctions imposed on Russia, which include specific measures against Gazprom, in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Ambassador Yulia Kovaliv was expected to express her country’s disappointment during an appearance on Thursday before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, which is considering the government’s decision.
The turbine is intended for use in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline supplying Germany with natural gas.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who has championed granting Siemens Energy a sanctions waiver for the turbine, and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson were also due to appear before the Commission’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Communal room.
On Wednesday, Joly and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock both insisted the return of the turbines used in the Russian pipeline was necessary.
The Canadian Armed Forces also announced Thursday that eight CF-18 fighter jets have arrived in Romania for a four-month deployment to help NATO guard against foreign incursions into Romanian airspace.
This is the seventh time that Canada has sent fighter jets to Romania as part of NATO’s air policing mission since 2014.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 4, 2022