Canada’s aid to Ukraine to top $800 million — RT World News
Ottawa will also spend billions to expand its military presence in Eastern Europe in the coming years
The Canadian government will allocate more than $800 million for military aid to Ukraine by the end of 2023, according to a new budget report. However, the document proposes significant reductions in future security assistance.
The fall economic statement, published by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday, outlines government spending over the next few years, and expects a total of $816 million in military aid to Kiev for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
However, sharp cuts in future aid are expected, with the budget report indicating that aid will fall by more than half to $318 million in 2024, then fall again to $197 million in 2025, then drop to zero in subsequent years. .
Although Ottawa has disbursed aid to Kiev largely by request and on a case-by-case basis, officials from both countries are negotiating longer-term assistance. In July, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada and other G7 countries were working to achieve this “Specific, bilateral and long-term security commitments.” For Ukraine, though, it is unclear what progress has been made on this arrangement.
Tuesday’s budget statement also noted that over the next six years, Canada will allocate about $2.6 billion to the reinsurance operation, its largest overseas undertaking, which ““Contributes to NATO assurances and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe.” According to the Ministry of Defence. The mission is based in Latvia and currently includes about 1,000 Canadian soldiers, although the Army will soon deploy a full brigade-sized formation (up to 5,000 soldiers), along with a squadron of 15 Leopard 2 battle tanks.
The financial report also indicated Ottawa will spend about $29 million over the next three years “Disposal of property seized from those subject to sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.” According to CBC, which indicated that many of these assets are scheduled to be transferred to Kiev.
Canada has pledged more than $2.4 billion in direct military aid to Ukraine since fighting with Russia broke out in February 2022, including a variety of heavy weapons systems, munitions and vehicles. The Canadian military has also trained thousands of Ukrainian troops, before and during the current round of hostilities.
Moscow has condemned all foreign arms transfers to Kiev, saying they will only prolong the conflict and do little to deter its military goals. The Kremlin has claimed that Western countries are already de facto parties to the conflict, given the constant flow of weapons, training, intelligence and logistical support to Ukrainian forces.
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