Canada to continue UNIFIER military training mission in Ukraine - media

The Canadian military training mission UNIFIER, operating in Ukraine, will be extended for another six months.

That’s according to the Globe and Mail, citing its own sources in the Canadian government, Ukrinform reports.

Besides prolonging the mandate of the military training mission, the government is now considering increasing the number of instructors and sending defense weapons and equipment to Kyiv, the report said.

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It is noted that this implies a possible delivery of firearms, night vision goggles, helmets, bulletproof vests, and communication devices to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The possibility of providing intelligence and cybersecurity data is also being explored, the report adds.

At the same time, the sources noted that Canada sending Ukraine anti-tank weapons was off the table at the moment despite Britain going for such a move in the past days.

Read also: FM: Canada’s government to greenlight defensive weapon supplies to Ukraine

It should be recalled that about 200 Canadian troops are stationed in central and western Ukraine, as part of Operation UNIFIER. The mission’s headquarters is located at the Yavoriv base.

The mandate of the current UNIFIER mission expires in March. If it isn’t extended by that period, the Canadian military will have to leave Ukraine.