Canada Vows To Build Millions of Drones as Part of ‘100 Year Partnership’ With Ukraine

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, on Thursday, signed a 100-year partnership declaration covering defense, reconstruction, energy, and technology.Mr. Zelensky said it was a “very important document,” with work on a series of specific agreements to be finalized in the coming weeks.Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Zelensky announced that Canada had agreed to supply a “very important package of air defense” to Ukraine. Kyiv has sought to bolster its supply of interceptor missiles as Russia bombards Ukraine with attacks on civilian infrastructure. President Trump has curtailed sales of Patriot missiles to Ukraine as the war with Iran taps American stockpiles.Mr. Carney said that as part of Thursday’s agreement, Canada would transfer approximately $253 million in ballistic missiles to Ukraine through an American mechanism.Mr. Carney has been a vocal defender of Ukraine and Ottawa has already given Kyiv more than $8 billion in military assistance since the Russian invasion. His country has one of the largest Ukrainian populations in the world, trailing only Ukraine itself and Russia, with more than 1.35 million persons of full or partial Ukrainian origin, comprising about 3.5 percent of Canada’s total population, census figures show.Part of the deal is for Canada to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of drones in the coming years. Mr. Carney noted that Canada’s military currently only has about 2,000 drones, but the goal is to grow that into the millions. Mr. Carney said that, under the agreement, a third of the drones produced in the next few years would go to Ukraine as it continues to battle Russia.“We have to prepare our country. We are strong but we need to be stronger,” Mr. Zelensky said.The Canadians will rely on Ukrainian innovation by the “most battle-tested developers on earth” to jump-start production. Drones have become an important part of the battle between Russia and Ukraine as advances by ground troops have ground mostly to a halt.Russia launched 149 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said Thursday. Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones that can hit deep inside Russia. A Ukrainian drone on Wednesday traveled 1,800 miles and hit an oil refinery in Siberia. Other drones hit sites across western Russia in the past day. Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Thursday claimed 448 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight.Canada will also contribute money to help repair and improve Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which has been battered by Russian airstrikes. Mr. Carney also said Canada would loan about $312 million to Ukraine for gas purchases ahead of the winter.“Ukraine will never submit,” Mr. Carney told the press after the signing ceremony. “Canada will always stand in solidarity with Ukraine.”Mr. Carney also committed Canada to help rebuild Ukraine after the war. “Ukraine and Canada are looking beyond this war to the century ahead,” the prime minister said.

Canada Vows To Build Millions of Drones as Part of ‘100 Year Partnership’ With Ukraine

Canada Vows To Build Millions of Drones as Part of ‘100 Year Partnership’ With Ukraine

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