Ukraine's PM to visit Canada to seek heavy armoured vehicles and ammunition

Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, is planning to come to Canada to seek ammunition and heavy armoured vehicles

Source: Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, in the interview with The Globe and Mail

Shmyhal is visiting Canada in the coming weeks, but for security reasons the Ukrainian government is not disclosing the date of the trip.

Shmyhal said the Ukrainian government would also like the Canadian government to offer Canadian companies investing in Ukraine a war risk insurance as part of efforts to support reconstruction and foreign investment in Ukraine.

The Canadian government’s 2023 budget, unveiled in March, offered a new C$2.4 billion loan for Ukraine but little in the way of additional military aid. In the past 12 months, however, Ottawa has provided more than C$1 billion in military gear to Kyiv.

Shmyhal said he is not concerned about the lack of new military aid allocated for Ukraine in the federal budget and remains hopeful that Canada will provide more military aid anyway, among other forms of assistance.

Quote: "Now, we need heavy armoured vehicles. And we need more artillery shells: ammunition for howitzers and ammunition for tanks," he said.

Shmyhal said Ukraine needs countries such as Canada to help pave the way for more foreign investment – and that includes special insurance to reduce the financial risk of operating in a war zone.

Shmyhal said his visit will include signing cooperation agreements with a Canadian company in the nuclear industry – he did not provide more details – and noted that Kyiv has already signed deals with foreign firms including some from Canada.

Background: 

• In March, Canada delivered German Dutch-made Bergepanzer 3 armoured support vehicles based on the Leopard 2 tank. 
• Earlier, Canada announced that it would provide Ukraine with about 8,000 155-mm calibre ammunition, as well as 12 anti-aircraft missiles from the Canadian Armed Forces stockpile to support Ukraine’s air defence systems.
• Ottawa will also transfer more than 1,800 105-mm tank training rounds to Kyiv to support the transfer of Leopard 1 tanks by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

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