Canada to send military personnel to help train Ukrainian forces
OTTAWA The Conservative government announced Monday it will provide more help for Ukraine’s beleaguered military, including sending Canadian soldiers to train Ukrainian troops as they continue to battle Russian-backed rebels.
At a news conference in Kyiv on Monday, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said the stepped-up aid is intended to provide “capacity building” for the Ukrainian military.
The assistance will provide military and medical training to help Ukrainian forces protect the country against Russian aggression. Nicholson said the help will include training from military police who arrived in Ukraine on Monday.
“We have a solid foundation of training and capacity building which has taken place for many years,” Nicholson told reporters. “The government of Canada has taken concrete steps to assist Ukraine.”
Until now, Canada’s military aid to Ukraine has focused on providing “non-combat” support, including winter clothing, night vision goggles and radio kits.
Monday’s announcement is certain to annoy the Russians, who have faced repeated criticism from the Harper government for sending soldiers and weapons to assist the rebels.
At the G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper shook Vladimir Putin’s hand reluctantly, telling the Russian president “to get out of Ukraine.”
Russia illegally occupied and annexed Crimea in March. Weeks later, armed separatists assisted and, in some cases, led by Russian intelligence officers began seizing government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.