Canada's Defence Ministry says the time is not right to send military instructors to Ukraine

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair believes that the circumstances are not yet right for Western military instructors to return to Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda citing Reuters

Details: Commenting on a decision made at a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Blair said the Allies had discussed a NATO mission to enhance training for the Ukrainian military.

"At the present time, the circumstances are not right to deploy – in my view – the Canadian trainers in Ukraine. There is, I think, quite an understandable concern about expanding a training mission into Ukraine at the current time," he added.

Canada withdrew its instructors from Ukraine just before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and they are currently working in the UK and Poland.

Background: 

• Last month, the media reported that French President Emmanuel Macron had formed a coalition of states willing to send military instructors to train Ukrainian soldiers directly in Ukraine.
• In mid-May, The New York Times reported that some NATO members were openly discussing the prospect of deploying military instructors or contractors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers and assist with equipment repairs.

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