Ottawa will donate more than 800 drones to help Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, Defence Minister Bill Blair has announced.
The Canadian-made drones, which come with a $95 million price tag, are expected to be delivered to Ukraine by spring, Mr. Blair told reporters during a Feb. 19 press conference. The SkyRanger R70 drones will be sourced from Teledyne, a company based in Waterloo, Ont.
“These drones are going to help Ukraine’s front line troops assess targets and threats quickly with accuracy and effectiveness,” Mr. Blair said at the press conference in Etobicoke, Ont.
Mr. Blair said the drones will offer Ukraine the ability to “detect, and to gather information that can be very useful as they defend their country.”
A National Defence press release said the drones are “critical” for surveillance and intelligence gathering, but can also be used to deliver supplies, including munitions, weighing up to 3.5 kilograms. The drones will help operators to recognize humans, vehicles, and any other heat source at long distances, even in the dark or in poor weather.
Anne Bulk, Teledyne FLIR vice-president of unmanned systems, said the company has commenced production of the drones.
“I’m expecting late March, early April would be the timeline that we will be able to deliver on,” she said at the press conference.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Yulia Kovaliv thanked Mr. Blair “for increasing our combat capability with the modern drones.” She described the drones in a Feb. 19 X post as “crucially important for Ukraine on the battlefield.”
The cost of the drones will come out of the $500 million package unveiled by the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Kyiv last summer.
Canadian Munitions
Canada is also working to send more ammunition to Ukraine, Mr. Blair said, adding that the government is “drawing down upon the stocks of our Canadian Armed Forces.”“I’m very hopeful that we’ll have more to say in the not too distant future about how we’re investing in increased Canadian production of munitions that will help both Ukraine and to reconstitute, as required, the Canadian Armed Forces,” he said. “But those things take time.”
Canada has also entered into an agreement with the Czech Republic that could allow Ottawa to acquire munitions for Ukraine until domestic production increases.
The announcement of Canada’s latest donation to Ukraine comes just days ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
Canada’s announcement of increased support came the same day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to social media to ask Western allies to increase provision of military assistance, particularly long-range munitions.
“The situation is extremely difficult in several parts of the frontline where Russian troops have amassed maximum reserves,” he said in a Feb. 19 X post. “They are taking advantage of the delays in aid to Ukraine. There is a deficit in artillery. There is a need for frontline air defence and for a longer range of our weapons.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on New Year’s Day to “intensify” his country’s attacks on Ukraine. He laid blame for attacks on Russian cities not just on Ukraine but also on Western nations, which he said are using Ukraine to try to “put Russia in its place.”
“They want to intimidate us and create uncertainty within our country,” Mr. Putin told reporters during a Jan. 1 visit to a military hospital. “We will intensify strikes. Not a single crime against our civilian population will go unpunished.”
Despite promising to repay Ukraine in kind for a Dec. 30 attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod, Mr. Putin was adamant Russia would target only Ukrainian military infrastructure.
Russia launched Shahed-style drones into the country during the early hours of Jan. 1, a move that Mr. Putin described as retaliation for the Dec. 30 “terrorist attack” on Belgorod that left more than two dozen people dead and wounded more than 100 others.
Mr. Zelenskyy, however, said Russian forces had launched approximately 170 Shahed drones and “dozens of missiles of various types” primarily at civilian areas.
The Ukrainian air force said earlier this month it had shot down 40 Shahed drones launched by Russia over nine different regions, including on the outskirts of Kyiv, according to an Associated Press report. The five-and-a-half-hour attack targeted agricultural facilities and coastal infrastructure, the news outlet said.
A UN report published late last year suggests in excess of 10,000 civilians, including more than 560 children, had died since the war began. The report also indicated more than 18,500 had been wounded.
