Mission to train Ukrainian combat engineers to be extended: Trudeau

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Mar 2023 23:57

The Canadian Prime Minister says Ottawa will provide Can$3 million for demining missions in Ukraine.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a visit to a military base in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on March 7, 2023 (Reuters)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Ottawa decided to extend its mission to train Ukrainian military engineers to October, noting that medical trainers will be deployed too.

Trudeau's statement came during a joint press conference with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is on an official trip to the country, while the two visited a military base in Ontario.

The Prime Minister also said that Canada will provide Can$3 million to assist in demining works in Ukraine, vowing that the European Union will also send generators in order to support the country suffering from a deep electricity problem after having a large number of its power grids destroyed during the war.

"Canada will stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine as long as it takes," he said.

Canada, which has committed over Can$1 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, announced earlier in January that it will deliver four Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2023 and train Ukrainian troops on using the new system.

Von der Leyen praised Canada's decision and ongoing support for Ukraine and noted the EU has spent so far over 12 billion euros in military assistance to Kiev, noting that the bloc aims to train 30,000 Ukrainian servicemembers by the end of 2023.

In another context, Canada and the EU have agreed to establish a green hydrogen trade to help fulfill the continent's energy needs, the two leaders revealed.

"The European Union is planning on producing on its own 10 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030, but also importing 10 million tons of hydrogen by 2030," said the European leader, adding that "Canada is one of the prime potential partners for hydrogen."

On his part, the Canadian Prime Minister stressed that "the enhanced action plan on hydrogen will mobilize investment, support businesses, share expertise and get clean Canadian hydrogen to Europe."

"Fundamentally, it's about good middle-class jobs, economic growth and clean energy."

Ursula von der Leyen will deliver a speech to Canada's Parliament during her visit and is scheduled to land in Washington on Friday to meet with US President Joe Biden.