Canada has pledged $76 million to a German initiative to accelerate the delivery of air defense systems to Ukraine. The move is in response to Russia’s aerial attacks targeting Ukrainian critical infrastructures such as hospitals and power plants.
The contribution was announced during a bilateral meeting between Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in Ottawa on Friday.
Both parties have expressed their commitment to supporting Ukraine in the immediate and longer term with continuous military support.
Currently, members of the Canadian Armed Forces are deployed to Germany to support plans for the Ukrainian Armed Forces training and aid transfer as part of Security Assistance Group-Ukraine.
“Canada and Germany are close NATO allies, united through our close defence relationship and our commitment to supporting Ukraine,” said Blair.
The defense ministers also discussed efforts supporting NATO, including facilitating battle groups in Latvia and Lithuania and strengthening the alliance’s defense and deterrence posture in Eastern Europe, and their joint priorities in preparation for the NATO Summit in the United States in July.