Defense Minister Bill Blair announced the provision of military assistance to Ukraine amounting to 440 million Canadian dollars during the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format).
According to a statement on the Canadian government’s website, the new announcement includes a contribution of 200 million dollars to a Czech initiative for the procurement and delivery of large-caliber ammunition for Ukraine. This contribution complements over 53 million dollars announced last year for the Czech initiative, which has already supplied Ukraine with approximately 11,500 rounds of large-caliber ammunition. An additional 50 million dollars will also be allocated for the purchase of ammunition of various calibers from the Canadian industry.
Minister Blair also allocated 100 million dollars for the Danish model to support the domestic defense industry in Ukraine in producing military drones.
Furthermore, Blair announced the following assistance: 30 million dollars for winter gear, including sleeping bags, winter boots, and thermal underwear. Several tranches of this donation were delivered to Ukraine in December 2024; high-quality drone cameras worth 64 million dollars were delivered to Ukraine in November and December 2024.
“The donations announced today are part of an additional 500 million dollars in military assistance to Ukraine, declared at the NATO summit in 2024, and 1.6 billion dollars stated in the 2024 budget,” explained the government.
Thus, the total value of Canadian military assistance since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion has reached 4.5 billion dollars.
Minister Blair also provided updated information on military assistance to Ukraine. A shipment of approximately 1,300 CRV-7 missile warheads was delivered in December 2024 after more than 2,000 CRV-7 missile engines were supplied in September 2024; the first deliveries of armored combat support vehicles arrived in the fall of 2024, and all training has been completed. Forty additional vehicles will be supplied between May and December 2025.
The 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is taking place at the Ramstein airbase in Germany on Thursday, December 9, after a long break. The last 24th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was held on September 6 at the Ramstein airbase in Germany.
Leaders of capability coalition groups within the Ramstein format approved 8 “roadmaps” that outline key objectives for the Ukrainian Defense Forces until 2027. The coalition roadmaps define Ukraine's strategic goals through 2027 and serve as the foundation for medium- and long-term support. We are also working to ensure that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fully compatible with NATO forces, said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
The first meeting at the Ramstein airbase took place on April 26, 2022.