Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada has deployed seven Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Medical Technicians and Medical Assistants from Canadian Forces Health Services units to Poland, where they will train members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the skills needed to save lives effectively in combat situations.
Canadian medical trainers will integrate into the Polish-led training that is centred on advanced tactical medical skills, with a particular focus on combat survivability. With training commencing in early March, each training serial is set to last for approximately one month. The CAF personnel involved in this training come from units across Canada.
Additionally, Canada is extending its ongoing efforts to train Ukrainian sappers in Poland under Operation UNIFIER until October 2023. Through this training, which commenced in fall 2022, approximately 45 CAF members are equipping Ukrainian combat engineers with specialized skills such as engineering reconnaissance, and the use of explosives for demolition and demining.
Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. This includes eight Leopard 2 main battle tanks, an armoured recovery vehicle, over 200 armoured vehicles, a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) with associated munitions, 39 armoured combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, M777 howitzers and associated ammunition, high-resolution drone cameras, winter clothing, and more.
