Canada must bolster its own armed forces to sustain aid to Ukraine, expert says

This opinion was expressed by Dr Christian Leuprecht, Distinguished Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, in a comment to Ukrinform.

“Canada is torn between commitments to continental defense, NATO, and the Indo-Pacific. Although an early contributor to training Ukrainian troops starting in 2015, the readiness of the Canadian Armed Forces has been atrophying so rapidly that the priority will be to regenerate and sustain the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Dr Leuprecht.

In his view, the most effective way for Canada to support Ukraine at this stage is "with cash contributions to collective arms purchases, as well as intelligence and troop training support."

He also noted that the new defense partnership signed this week between Canada and the European Union could bring financial benefits to Ukraine.

“The greatest benefit is Ukraine and Canada prospectively partnering with European Union countries through the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), and indirectly harnessing synergies as well as financial benefits for some EU countries of lower borrowing rates under the EU’s SAFE initiative,” the expert added.

As reported, on Monday, the European Union and Canada agreed to significantly deepen their defense cooperation through the Security and Defense Partnership Agreement. Among other things, the agreement brings Canada closer to joining the SAFE credit program supporting the European defense industry, as well as the ReArm Europe mechanism.

The NATO summit held in The Hague on June 24–25 focused on increasing defense spending, strengthening NATO members’ defense industrial capacity, and continuing support for Ukraine.

Photo credit: Sonja S Photography