Canada to buy NASAMS from US for Ukraine: PM office
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Canada is buying weapons to Ukraine through the United States as the West continues bolstering Kiev.
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NASAMS Air Defence System
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told US President Joe Biden that Canada would purchase a US-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine, the Prime Minister's office said on Wednesday.
The two heads of state had a bilateral meeting earlier in the day on the margins of the North American Leaders' Summit in the Mexican capital, Mexico City.
"The Prime Minister informed the President that Canada will purchase a US-manufactured National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine," the readout said.
Defense Minister Anita Anand said that "this is the first Canadian donation of an air defense system to Ukraine."
A Canadian MP said back in June that Canada has been stockpiling weaponry supplied by the United States as it struggles to meet its pledge to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.
On Friday, Yvan Baker, chair of the Canada-Ukraine parliamentary friendship group, told Ukraina.ua news station that the Canadian armed forces had a restricted arsenal and a small military budget.
Pentagon Spokesperson Patrick Ryder told a press briefing in November that the Ukrainian military just finished training on the NASAMS air defense system.
"They did recently complete that training," he told reporters, indicating that Ukraine had received the two NASAMS it had been promised in July.
When asked, Ryder refused to reveal where the training was conducted.
Amid its confrontation with Russia, the US has given Ukraine a total of 8 NASAMS systems. According to authorities from the Pentagon, the delivery of the remaining six air defense systems is not anticipated to happen anytime soon.
The NASAMS is a short-to-medium-range ground-based air defense system that can be used against helicopters, cruise missiles, and aircraft.
