Canadian officials said Wednesday that they will deliver another 200 armored vehicles to Ukraine as it pledges more help in dealing with Russian forces as part of the invasion.
Defense Minister Anita Anand confirmed the shipment during a visit to Kiev and clarified that they are armored vehicles for transporting infantry personnel.
The vehicles can carry eight troops together with a driver and a co-driver. In addition, there is space for transporting weapons. The vehicles are estimated to cost $90 million (82.9 million euros) and are part of the additional assistance package valued at $500 million (about 460 million euros) announced by Canada in November.
These vehicles are expected to be used to transport troops, wounded soldiers or military equipment. All of them will arrive in Ukraine by the summer, according to The Globe and Mail.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not ruled out sending German-made tanks to the country and said that Ottawa is considering such «requests».
Trudeau said Monday that «from the beginning (Canada) has made it clear that it is here to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion.» «We have sent numerous weapons, including air defense systems. We will assess all Ukrainian requests, also the one for the ‘Leopard 2’,» he asserted on Monday.
For the moment, Germany has been reluctant to take this step and has insisted that these battle tanks will only be delivered if an agreement is reached between Kiev’s main allies, especially with the United States.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)