Canada to provide Ukraine with air defense missiles, support procurement

Canada will not only purchase PAC-3 interceptors for the Patriot system for 350 million Canadian dollars (about 270 million U.S. dollars), but will also provide AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles and assist in acquiring the necessary equipment from other countries.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this in an interview with the “Yedyni Novyny” telethon during his visit to Canada, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

“The issue of air defense is our top priority. The Prime Minister (of Canada, Mark Carney—ed.) announced the purchase of missiles for the Patriot PAC-3 systems—anti-ballistic missiles—worth 350 million. This is an air defense package. In addition, we discussed the AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles with him. These are the missiles we also use for air defense in the NASAMS systems, which protect many different facilities, including energy infrastructure,” Zelensky said.

He noted that these missiles are also used on F-16 fighter jets.

The president emphasized that the air defense package from Canada will include “both funds and individual missiles.” “And there are also some agreements that require him (Mark Carney—ed.) to engage in direct dialogue with other leaders who, for various reasons, cannot sell anything directly to Ukraine,” the head of state added.

As reported, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated during a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky in Calgary that Canada and Ukraine had finalized an agreement on the procurement of critically important air interceptors through the JUMPSTART mechanism. This equipment package, valued at 350 million Canadian dollars, will help protect Ukraine’s citizens, infrastructure, and airspace.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine