OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper on April 14 announced that the government of Canada will provide significant additional military resources to help train and build the capacity of Ukrainian forces personnel. The announcement was made following a briefing on the current security situation in Ukraine with Minister of National Defense and Minister for Multiculturalism Jason Kenney and Gen. Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defense Staff.
Canada will be deploying approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel to Ukraine until March 31, 2017, to develop and deliver military training and capacity-building programs for Ukrainian forces personnel. CAF members will be deployed on both a sustained and periodic basis depending on the type of training being conducted.
Their activities will include explosive ordnance disposal and improvised explosive device disposal training, military police training, medical training, flight safety training and logistics system modernization training. Canada will also be providing individual and unit tactics training to Ukrainian National Guard personnel along with the United States.
Canada’s latest military contribution, which addresses a number of requests from the government of Ukraine, is being provided to help the country in its efforts to maintain sovereignty, security and stability in the face of Russian aggression. The support being announced today was informed by consultations with key allies.
Prime Minister Harper said, “Canada continues to stand with the people of Ukraine in the face of the Putin regime’s ongoing aggression. The Canadian military contribution being announced today will help Ukrainian forces personnel to better defend their country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
A news release from the office of the prime minister noted: “Canada’s position on Ukraine has been clear since the outset: we recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and will never recognize the illegal Russian occupation of Crimea or any part of that country.”