In Calgary, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney one-on-one and in an expanded format.
“I am grateful for all the assistance packages, for everything Canada has done throughout this war. We truly appreciate it. To achieve peace, we need to be strong. We need a strong and lasting peace for our country. And we are grateful to have such strong friends as Canada with us on this path,” the Head of State said.
The President provided an update on the peace negotiation process, contacts with the American side, and Russia’s escalation through jet-powered “shahed” terror targeting civilian passenger trains, shopping malls, energy facilities, and ports. The President and the Prime Minister share the same position: strikes on grain and energy must stop. At the same time, Russia’s position on the front is not as strong as the Kremlin claims.
“Mark and I discussed the situation on the front, which is currently quite strong for us, for Ukraine. We are destroying Russian forces – Russia is losing around 30,000 troops killed and severely wounded every month,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President thanked Canada for strengthening Ukraine’s air defense and for seeking additional Patriot interceptors around the world. The leaders held a substantive discussion on military cooperation under the Drone Deal and signed the first document on the path toward it.
“Thank you, Mark, for making this such a substantive visit. I am personally grateful to you and to your team. Overall, today’s arrangements are substantial. They amount to more than $2 billion – including a government package of more than $1 billion for our defense, primarily to protect our skies: missiles for Patriots, munitions for F-16s, and coproduction between our countries – very important coproduction of drones. And there is also a business package – arrangements between our businesses, primarily in the energy sector and for our joint initiatives,” the President noted.
In addition, the development of anti-ballistic capabilities was discussed in detail.
“Mark assured me that Canada is ready to contribute its technologies to our European anti-ballistic missile program FREYJA. This is a necessary and timely step. There will also be additional defense deliveries,” the Head of State said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy positively assessed Canada’s sanctions measures against Russia. Canada is currently preparing several new sanctions packages against Russia. In particular, these include sanctions that will make it more difficult for the aggressor state to produce ballistic missiles.
“Canada is preparing such an anti-ballistic sanctions package for this fall – I want to thank you for that. And we very much hope that the package will be accelerated so that it can take effect as early as October,” the President added.
The Head of State also thanked Canada for supporting Ukraine’s energy sector ahead of winter and for its special attention to humanitarian initiatives, including assistance for Ukrainian veterans.
Separately, the leaders discussed Ukraine’s need for additional financing and ways to address the $27 billion funding gap.
Mark Carney assured Ukraine of Canada’s continued comprehensive support.
“We have supported the energy system and will continue to provide that support. As colleagues and allies, we support Ukraine’s path toward membership in NATO and the European Union and, most importantly, we uphold fundamental values – Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the principle that Ukraine’s future must be determined by Ukrainians alone. Canada’s support will continue – there is no question about that,” the Prime Minister said.
