On Friday, Canada joined France in announcing the delivery of heavy artillery to Ukraine. It comes just days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to send more weaponry to the Ukrainian security forces to assist in fighting off Russian troops presently advancing across the Donbas region.
Trudeau said on Wednesday that he was assisting Ukraine and would provide additional supplies, but could not give specifics.
“Their most recent ask was exactly for that, for heavy artillery, for reasons of operations security…I can’t go into the details at this point on how and what we’re getting to them exactly,” he said.
What Did Canada Send to Ukraine?
CBS News reported this week that four of Canada’s relatively new M777 howitzers have been sent to the Ukrainian military.
Three Canadian defense officials spoke to the news outlet on the condition of anonymity, stating that four of Canada’s 37 howitzers that were purchased during the Afghanistan war would be deployed to Ukraine.
On Friday, a press release from Defense Minister Anita Anand confirmed the shipment but didn’t provide any additional information. The statement simply said that a “number” of howitzers had been sent as part of a combined effort with the United States.
The statement also said that Canada had provided additional ammunition to Ukraine, but again did not provide specifics.
Anand also insisted that the decision will not hurt the Canadian military, with all equipment taken from Canadian inventory being replaced.
“While this equipment comes from the inventory of the Canadian Armed Forces, the capability will be replenished,” Anand said.
The howitzers are understood to be coming from the 1ST Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.
Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, fire a M777 towed 155 mm Howitzer on Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2019. The Soldiers conducted a fire mission to disrupt known enemy positions. As long as Daesh presents a threat, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve remains committed to enabling its defeat. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Spc. DeAndre Pierce)
A Soldier conducts registration and calibration for the M777A2 howitzer weapon system in Syria, Sept. 30, 2021. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Isaiah J Scott
Third Platoon, Bravo Battery of the Automatic Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, lit up the Zabul province night by firing illumination from their M777A2, 155 mm howitzer at suspected enemy movements from FOB Pasab, Zharay District, Zabul province, Afghanistan, July 20, 2011. Photo by Sgt. Christopher McCann
On Friday, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy said that NATO forces were delivering the kind of heavy artillery and weapons he has been requesting for weeks, and insisted that the efforts will help save the lives of thousands of people remaining in Ukraine.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
