Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, and General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, participated via video link in the twelfth Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, hosted by United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. During the meeting, Allies and partners discussed the current battlefield situation in Ukraine and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes by providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with comprehensive military assistance.
Minister Anand announced that Canada is expanding its presence in Poland under Operation UNIFIER. Five additional Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) medical trainers will be deployed to Poland to join the seven CAF members already deployed on the advanced medical skills training program for Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel. These additional CAF members will double the number of potential Ukrainian graduates.
The Minister also noted that under Operation UNIFIER, the Canadian Armed Forces and Latvian National Armed Forces began jointly delivering Junior Officer leadership development training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on May 15. This line of effort was recently announced by Minister Anand during the visit to Canada of the Minister of Defence of Latvia, Ināra Mūrniece. Since the start of Operation UNIFIER in 2015, the CAF has trained more than 36,000 members of the Security Forces of Ukraine in battlefield tactics and advanced military skills, with more than 2,400 trained since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Minister Anand further announced that Canada is donating 43 AIM-9 missiles to Ukraine, from CAF inventory, and noted that this donation will help Ukraine to secure its skies in the face of ongoing Russian attacks.
The Minister also noted that delivery of the donation packages of small arms and ammunition announced in April is on track. Machine guns, assault rifles, cleaning kits, and magazines have already been delivered to Ukraine, and 1 million rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 4,800 assault rifles are scheduled to be delivered in the coming weeks. All 21,000 small arms and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition are expected to be in Ukraine by the summer.
Thanks to the ongoing work of the Royal Canadian Air Force detachment in Prestwick, Scotland, Canada has now transported over nine million pounds of Ukraine-bound military aid donated by Canada, Allies, and partners within Europe.
Canada remains committed to working closely with Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with the support it needs as it continues its brave fight against Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war.
