Photo: Sergei Supinsky Agence France-Presse Canada's unfulfilled promises notably concern a major air defense system, the donation of which was announced with great fanfare more than a year ago.
Fabien Deglise
February 19, 2024
- Canada
Behind the declarations, the figures and their consequence: almost 60% of the value of the aid in military equipment promised by Canada to Ukraine, in the wake of the outbreak of the Russian invasion war, there are two years, has still not been honored, indicate government data compiled by Le Devoir.
These unfulfilled promises concern a major air defense system, the donation of which was announced with great fanfare more than a year ago, armored vehicles, several of which are dedicated to the evacuation of wounded , but also artillery ammunition, drone cameras, satellite communication systems or even small caliber weapons and their ammunition, the shortage of which on the ground, on the side of the Ukrainian forces, is changing the situation. course of the conflict in favor of the Russians.
On Saturday, Moscow claimed “total control” of the small town of Avdiïvka, in eastern Ukraine, after a strategic withdrawal of Ukrainian troops that began a few days earlier and which “occurred in largely because [they] are running low on artillery ammunition,” summarized John Kirby, White House national security spokesman.
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On Sunday, from the Munich Security Conference, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, admitted that if the decisions on the delivery of arms and aid to Ukraine had been “faster, perhaps be that the war would have been different”, a few days before the second anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict, this Saturday.
“All these delays necessarily have enormous consequences in terms of security for the Ukrainians and make the shortage of arms and ammunition in which they currently find themselves even more difficult,” summarizes in an interview with Dutyarmy specialist Christian Leuprecht, professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. “It is clear that the government's word regarding Canada's lasting support on which Ukraine can count is not in line with reality and this has an impact both on the battlefield and on Canada's image among of our allies. Allies who perceive us more and more as indifferent to this war and above all unreliable.”
Crucial donations for the Ukrainian army
Of the $2.4 billion in military aid promised by Ottawa since February 24, 2022 and the international community's condemnation of the second Russian invasion into the territory of Ukraine, 1.4 billion has still not materialized on the ground, according to government data, or 58% of the total amount of donations announced.
This includes the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and associated munitions, worth $406 million, which Ottawa promised to purchase from the United States in January 2023 and subsequently donate to Ukraine, or the 35 high-resolution cameras for drones, worth 76 million, which were the subject of an aid announcement by the federal government at the end of last summer.
These surveillance and anti-aircraft defense systems are nevertheless crucial for the Ukrainians who since the beginning of the year have been facing an increase in Russian air attacks, massively orchestrated by the Kremlin on areas residential.
Between December 29 and January 2, nearly 100 Russian missiles, including several hypersonic ones, were launched simultaneously on several major cities in Ukraine, including kyiv, Lviv, Odessa and Kharkiv, causing more than a hundred deaths.
Canada made promises without having coordinated the ministries and agencies involved in these deliveries and without knowing the production and delivery capacity of its military industry
— Christian Leuprecht, army specialist
As spring begins to return to the former Soviet republic, Ottawa has still not delivered winter clothing and equipment, worth $25 million, promised last October. In the Ukrainian forces, 2,000 soldiers were to take advantage of these boots, “thermal layering pieces,” winter sleeping bags, and “patterned military uniforms,” according to the announcement made at the time.
“Canada has the reputation of being a country that quickly delivers promised equipment when the delivery is entirely under its control, explained Alexandre Tétreault, spokesperson for the Department of National Defense last week. Canadian, joined in Ottawa by Le Devoir. We have already supplied Ukraine with 300 anti-aircraft missiles, including missiles to support Ukraine's existing NASAMS systems,” he added, claiming to be “in close communication with the United States and Ukraine regarding » the NASAMS air defense system that Ottawa promised to kyiv.
The military equipment was allegedly purchased and paid for last March in the United States, but Canadian Defense is unable to indicate when Ukraine will be able to get its hands on it to ensure the defense of its territory, despite a meeting between the federal Minister of National Defense, Bill Blair, and the United States Ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, which was held in early January to discuss this delivery, recently reported The Globe and Mail.
Words and gestures
For many Canadian defense experts, pledges of donations are easier to make than to deliver for Canada, both because of the framework for approving exports of military equipment passing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the industrial capacity of countries to really be able to support its political announcements.
“Canada made promises without having coordinated the ministries and agencies involved in these deliveries and without knowing the production and delivery capacity of its military industry,” says Christian Leuprecht. However, this industry needs long-term contracts to increase its production, not sporadic orders. Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom have invested long-term in their industries to ensure that their production capacities increase. But the Canadian government is not ready to take this same path. »
Thus, Ukraine is still waiting for small arms and ammunition worth $60 million that the Canadian Commercial Corporation is seeking to obtain from an arms manufacturer in Ontario. Same for 10,000 rounds of 105mm ammunition, for 76mm naval rounds, for 277 1000-pound aerial bombs and associated fuze sets, for 955 155mm artillery smoke rounds, for over 2000 mortar smoke rounds of 81 mm and for 2260 gas masks, which must nevertheless come from the inventory of the Canadian Armed Forces.
To (re)read
From our series: One year of war in Ukraine, last year:
- Arm or finance: how Canada's aid to Ukraine is evolving ?
- Eight findings on the weapons used by the two camps in Ukraine
- Interactive | Immerse yourself behind the scenes of the war in Ukraine through Telegram
Since the start of the conflict, the military promises to Ukraine made by Canada have been at the heart of a paradox, believes Mr. Leuprecht, since Canadians easily adhere to the idea of coming to the aid of a country attacked by Russia, but reject that of investing in the development of Canada's military industry to fulfill this commitment.
“These investments are considered wasted money that does not advance the well-being of society,” he says. This puts the government at odds. He knows that defense is an interesting foreign policy instrument for him, but he cannot make decisions that risk turning away voters, while support for Ukraine is falling more and more in the polls. »
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden once again attributed the weaknesses exposed by the Ukrainians on the front to the inability of the US Congress and its Republican majority to adopt a $66 billion aid plan. , which undermines Ukraine's ability to strengthen its defense systems. “For the first time in our history, we have succeeded in mobilizing Europe in favor of peace,” Josep Borrell said from Munich. “I now call on you to achieve more and faster, without rejecting what we have already promised,” he added.