Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, says his country is in urgent need of weapons and wishes the air defence system Canada promised more than a year ago was already in Ukraine.
Canada announced plans in January 2023 to donate a $406-million surface-to-air missile defence system, but there’s still no delivery date.
“Of course, we wish the system was already in Ukraine because we are in a situation where every piece of air defence matters,” Kuleba said when asked by CBC News at the conclusion of the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland on Sunday.
“It’s an issue of death and life, issue of survival of our energy infrastructure.”
Ukraine is in a difficult position on the battlefield, and Russian gains have led to intense fighting northeast of Kharkiv. Russian drone and missile strikes have badly damaged the country’s energy grid.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the air defence system, known by the acronym NASAMS, is currently being built by the United States, and the delivery date is out of Canada’s control.
“We are working with the U.S. to accelerate production and get it off the assembly line and get it to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Trudeau said when asked by CBC News at the summit.
“We know the Americans want to do that as well, but it is something that is not entirely in Canada’s control.”
Kuleba said he is aware that Canada is “actively pushing” to speed up the delivery and that he wanted to make a simple point.
“The road to peace, the road to recovery in Ukraine starts with air defence and weapons that make our soldiers stronger on the battlefield,” he said.
Both Kuleba and Trudeau were among those who attended the two-day talks at a Swiss Alpine resort, at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to forge a path forward to end the war in Ukraine. War broke out after Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
Trudeau quiet about deploying trainers to Ukraine
Speaking to reporters, Trudeau wouldn’t say whether Canada will commit to sending military trainers to Ukraine. NATO ally France has made a public pledge to send trainers.
“Canada has trained over 35,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces and that continues,” Trudeau said. “We know how important it is, through working in various places, it is to continue to enable Ukraine to stand against the tremendous numbers and resources that Russia is throwing at them.”
In an interview with CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton, the Canadian military’s chief of the defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, said he received a briefing on the training mission from his French counterpart following D-Day commemoration ceremonies earlier this month.
Eyre said he did not want to speculate on whether Canada would agree to back France’s plan with Canadian troops. He did say the last time Canada had military members in Ukraine was when they were already fighting Russian-backed forces in the east.
“At some point, it’ll be right to go in,” he told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live.
Canada and other allies have been running battle schools since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago. More than 300 Canadian Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed for the training mission, which is taking place in Poland, Latvia and the United Kingdom.
$52-million package for Ukraine
Canada announced more than $52 million to help Ukraine replace damaged energy infrastructure, remove explosives and mines, and support children and youth at risk.
The announcement includes money to help reintegrate displaced Ukrainian children “through improved child protection services and family-based care options,” according to a government news release.
Trudeau said Russia must be held accountable for thousands of children being displaced, saying its actions resembled an element of genocide.
“Everyone can agree that taking kids away from their families, trying to erase their language, their culture, that’s an element of genocide,” the prime minister told reporters. “That’s pure colonialism. These are things that Russia needs to be accountable for.”
At a closing press conference at the summit, Trudeau also announced that in the coming months, Canada will host a meeting with foreign ministers “to advance the work on the human cost of this war.”
Canada has agreed to contribute $5 billion US to a $50 billion US loan to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The U.S.-led plan involves using the interest generated from roughly 200 billion euros (about $215 billion US) in frozen Russian assets.
