Calgary/IBNS-CMEDIA: Canada and Ukraine signed a declaration to build a long-term strategic partnership on Thursday as Ottawa pledged additional military support to help Kyiv counter intensifying Russian air attacks.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the 100-Year Partnership Declaration during Zelenskyy’s official visit to Canada.
The leaders said Canada would continue meeting Ukraine’s urgent military needs, with a particular focus on air defence and missile interceptors.
Ottawa will also support Project Freya, a Ukrainian-led European effort to develop lower-cost, high-volume interceptors capable of countering Russian ballistic missile attacks.
Reuters reported that Canada separately agreed to a C$350 million air-defence package for Ukraine, with the equipment to be supplied through a US programme that allows third countries to procure weapons for Kyiv.
The two countries also agreed to establish a long-term defence industrial partnership covering the joint production of uncrewed systems, counter-drone and electronic-warfare capabilities and ammunition.
Carney and Zelenskyy said cooperation would also expand in intelligence, cyber defence and countering hybrid threats, while Canada will continue Operation UNIFIER, its military training mission for Ukraine, through 2029.
Drone production emerged as another major area of cooperation. Canada plans to significantly expand its domestic drone manufacturing capacity, with Carney saying a third of the drones produced under the new expansion would be supplied to Ukraine. The initiative builds on Ukraine’s extensive battlefield experience with unmanned systems.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Canada has provided more than C$8.5 billion in military support and over C$750 million for recovery and reconstruction, while imposing more than 3,500 sanctions in response to Russia’s actions.
Beyond defence, Ottawa and Kyiv agreed to expand trade and investment under their modernised free trade agreement and deepen cooperation in energy security, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, space and biotechnology.
The leaders also reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s path toward EU and NATO membership and said Ukraine’s security was integral to wider Euro-Atlantic security.
They reiterated that any lasting peace must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing that “there can be no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
The declaration also commits the two countries to closer cooperation on the return and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported during the war, as well as support for veterans and stronger people-to-people ties.
Canada was the first Western country to recognise the restoration of Ukraine’s independence in December 1991.
More than 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian heritage now form a longstanding link between the two countries, according to the joint declaration.
The new partnership comes as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure ahead of winter, increasing pressure on Kyiv and its Western allies to strengthen air defences and prepare for another difficult winter.
(Reporting by Suman Das)
