During his working visit to Canada, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.
The Head of State expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister of Canada for supporting Ukraine and Ukrainians. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Canada has provided our country with over 8 billion Canadian dollars and trained almost 40 thousand Ukrainian servicemen in the framework of Operation UNIFIER.
"During this war, and in various other times, our state and our people have received from Canada only respect, only a desire to help, only trust. And please know: we appreciate this attitude, we are grateful to you. Ukraine will definitely remember this," the President said during a conversation with media representatives following the negotiations with Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that when Ukraine wins, it will be a joint victory with Canada, with all friends and partners, and with the free world.
In the course of the negotiations, the parties discussed defense cooperation. The Head of State noted Canada's leadership in humanitarian demining and expressed hope that with Canadian support, the task of clearing the entire Ukrainian land of mines and unexploded ordnance would be realized.
"I really appreciate Canada's decision to join the F-16 pilot training program. Thank you, Justin. Today we discussed in detail the reinforcement of our sky shield. I thanked the Prime Minister for his government's decision to purchase a new batch of missiles for Ukraine's air defense systems. This is a very timely decision given the daily Russian attacks with missiles and Iranian "Shaheds" against our cities, our people, our civilian infrastructure," the President said.
In addition, today Ukraine received a new defense support package from Canada, which includes armored fighting vehicles and armored evacuation vehicles necessary to save the lives of wounded soldiers.
The meeting also focused on cooperation between Ukraine and Canada in the military industry, including joint arms production.
"We look forward to the participation of Canadian companies in the first Defense Industries Forum to be held in Ukraine shortly," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He noted that the updated Free Trade Agreement signed today will serve as a basis for rebuilding Ukraine.
The President emphasized Canada's readiness to continue sanctions pressure on Russia to prevent it from increasing its financing of aggression.
The parties also discussed various aspects of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, in particular the points related to justice: convicting Russia for aggression and compensating for all the damage it caused. The Head of State thanked Canada for supporting the organization of the Global Peace Summit.
"I am also grateful for the leadership in the work on security guarantees for Ukraine for the period before joining NATO. Our teams are working on the preparation of a bilateral document on security guarantees," he emphasized.
In conclusion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Canada and its government for the fact that the Ukrainian culture and community in this country are always on a par with all other communities and cultures and feel respected.
For his part, Justin Trudeau announced the allocation of 650 million Canadian dollars in military aid to Ukraine over the next three years.
He confirmed that Canada would provide instructors to train pilots on F-16s and help with tank maintenance. In addition, Ukraine will receive 35 drones with hi-res cameras, armored vehicles, and ammunition.
It was also confirmed that Canada will make a financial contribution to the creation of a consortium for the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine and will provide significant macroeconomic assistance to our country in the 2024 fiscal year.
Justin Trudeau assured: Canada will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
