A mobile surface-to-air missile system 2K12 "Kub" is displayed during a defence fair in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Darko Vojinovic
OTTAWA – Canada is buying a U.S. surface-to-air missile system for Ukraine nearly a year after Russia’s invasion of the country began.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed U.S. President Joe Biden of the purchase on the sidelines of the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City.
Trudeau’s office says this will involve buying an American-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, but did not immediately provide a cost estimate or timeline.
In the past month, the U.S. and Germany both announced plans to send Ukraine such systems, while France has pledged tanks.
Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that his country welcomed the recent aid, saying it would help ward off Russia and bring about peace sooner.
Moscow, which started the war in Ukraine last February, has decried the military aid as a provocation aimed at weakening Russia’s sway in the world.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2023.
