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The Canadian government has announced it will donate 43 AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles to Ukraine.
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The donation will help Ukraine to secure its skies in the face of ongoing Russian attacks, according to a public statement by Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand on 25 May.
The missiles are part of a small arms and ammunition announced in April. Sidewinders are usually mounted on Western fighter jets, however, they can also be launched from National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems.
Canadian Armed Forces and Latvian National Armed Forces have begun jointly delivering Junior Officer leadership development training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine under Operation Unifier on 15 May.
Minister Anand also announced that Canada is expanding its presence in Poland under Operation Unifier by sending five additional Canadian Armed Forces medical trainers to Poland for the advanced medical skills training program for the Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel.
“Canada’s support for Ukraine is unwavering. When I travel across Canada, I see Ukrainian flags on homes, small businesses, and cars; because Canadians understand that Ukraine’s fight to defend itself is also a fight for sovereignty, freedom, and independence,” Minister Anand said.
“At today’s productive meeting, we discussed Ukraine’s most pressing defence priorities and I reaffirmed that Canada will be there to support Ukraine in the short and the long-term.”
One million rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 4,800 assault rifles are scheduled to be delivered in the coming weeks, with 21,000 small arms and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition expected to be in Ukraine by the summer.
Since the beginning of 2022, Canada has committed over $8 billion in aid to Ukraine, including over $1 billion in military assistance, eight Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, and one armoured recovery vehicle, a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, 39 armoured combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, M777 howitzers and associated ammunition.
