Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, participated via videoconference in the 20th Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, hosted by United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. The meeting brought together representatives from approximately 50 countries, who reaffirmed their commitment to providing Ukraine with the critical military aid that it needs.
At the meeting, Minister Blair announced that Canada is committing over $40 million to Czechia's initiative to purchase large-calibre ammunition rounds for Ukraine. This will enable the delivery of several thousand rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine. This commitment follows last month's signing of the Canada-Czechia Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding, which establishes a framework for defence cooperation between Canada and Czechia, including in the area of support for Ukraine.
In addition, Minister Blair announced that Canada will be donating a package of night vision devices to assist Ukrainian Armed Forces with nighttime operations. This donation, worth approximately $7.5 million, will be sourced from Canadian company Twenty20 Insight Inc.
Minister Blair also confirmed that Canada has officially joined the UDCG's Drone Capability Coalition co-led by Latvia and the United Kingdom, as Canada committed earlier this month. Among other things, this Coalition brings together UDCG members working to find ways to scale up drone production with the collective goal of delivering one million drones to Ukraine. Canada's initial contribution includes more than 800 drones from Teledyne, as announced recently by Minister Blair. The first delivery is expected to arrive in Ukraine this spring.
The donations announced today demonstrate Canada's ongoing commitment to providing Ukrainians with the critical and longer-term military aid that they need to defend their country. Canada's steadfast support for Ukraine includes commitments made in the historic Agreement on Security Cooperation between Canada and Ukraine, signed last month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
