A serviceman of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attends a military exercise between combat missions, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Monday.Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters
The Canadian government is buying $200-million of military gear for Ukraine through a mechanism set up by Donald Trump and the NATO military alliance after the U.S. President signaled he wanted to reduce Washington’s contributions to Kyiv.
The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) was developed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Mr. Trump after the June NATO leaders’ summit in the Netherlands where the United States said it wanted other allies to shoulder far more of the burden of supporting Ukraine.
Kyiv has been fighting an all-out military assault from Moscow since February, 2022.
The aid, in combination with other money from allies, comes as Ukraine is under pressure to accept a U.S.-backed peace plan with terms unfavourable to Kyiv.
“By contributing to this PURL package in partnership with our allies, we are ensuring Ukraine receives the advanced capabilities it urgently needs to defend its sovereignty and protect its people,” Defence Minister David McGuinty said in a statement.
“This contribution reflects Canada’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine, to our NATO allies, and to the security of the Euro-Atlantic region.”
Under PURL, NATO identifies packages of equipment and munitions that Ukraine requires. Allies contribute funding for these packages, which NATO then uses to purchase the items from U.S. stockpiles.
Together with money Canada announced in August, the additional aid brings the total Ottawa has funneled to Kyiv through PURL to $892-million, the Canadian government said.
In August, Mr. Trump said the U.S., which had been a big supporter of Ukraine under former president Joe Biden, was no longer sending weapons to Kyiv. Instead, he said other countries would buy weapons from the Americans to give to Ukraine.
“We are selling missiles and military equipment, millions and millions, ultimately billions of dollars to NATO,” the U.S. President said at the time.
In total, Canada has disbursed about $22-billion in assistance to Ukraine since February, 2022 including $6.5-billion in military aid.
Other countries announcing military aid for Ukraine through the PURL initiative are Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg and Slovenia.
U.S. peace plan would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack, says EU defence commissioner
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is trying to push back after Washington presented a peace plan for Moscow’s war on Ukraine last month that endorsed many of Russia’s main demands.
The Trump administration has also not rejected out-of-hand Russian claims to the rest of the Donbas region that Moscow has been unable to capture after nearly four years of war.
Moreover, Mr. Trump and other U.S. officials have made clear they see great opportunities for business deals with Moscow once the war is over.
Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday that talks between Russia and the U.S. on ending the war in Ukraine were constructive, but much work remains.
Mr. Putin met Mr. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin in talks that began late Tuesday as part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to broker a peace deal. Both sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks.
Mr. Ushakov called the five-hour conversation “rather useful, constructive, rather substantive,” but added that the framework of the U.S. peace proposal was discussed, rather than “specific wording.” Asked whether peace was closer or further away after these talks, Mr. Ushakov said: “Not further, that’s for sure.”
“But there’s still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow. That’s what’s been agreed upon. And contacts will continue,” the official said.
With reports from Reuters and The Associated Press