Canada has sent heavy artillery and ammunition to Ukraine
Canada has sent heavy artillery and ammunition to Ukraine
OTTAWA -
Canada has sent a number of M777 howitzers and ammunition from the Canadian Armed Forces to the Security Forces of Ukraine, fulfilling the prime minister's promise to send heavy artillery to the embattled country.
In a news release Friday, the federal government said it's also provided a “significant number” of Carl Gustaf anti-armour ammunition.
The M777 towed howitzer is capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 30 kilometres, the Department of National Defence said.
It's the Canadian Army's main artillery gun, firing 155-millimetre shells. Thirty-seven of the weapons were acquired from the United States.
The equipment provided is part of the Armed Forces inventory and will be replenished, the government said.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a list of equipment he said his military needed to fight Russia, including 155-millimetre heavy artillery guns and ammunition.
A spokesman for Defence Minister Anita Anand refused to confirm any further details Friday, saying the Ukrainians have asked allies to be careful about what information is being shared.
The government is not saying how many howitzers or how much ammunition has been provided to Ukraine, or how much it will cost to replace.
The president of the Canadian Ukrainian Congress expressed gratitude for Canada's ongoing support Friday.
“Ukraine is defending the freedom of Europe from Russia's genocidal war,” said Alexandra Chyczij in a statement.
“We are grateful that Canada and allies continue to provide the weapons and materiel the courageous Ukrainian Armed Forces need to defeat Russia.”
The Liberal government has previously dipped into the Canadian Armed Forces inventory to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian military.
However, unlike some of the weapons already donated to Ukraine, the M777s remain in use. In response to Russia's attack, the government recently deployed one M777 unit to reinforce a Canadian-led NATO battlegroup in Latvia.
Retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, who served as an artillery officer, said in an interview this week that the guns would be vulnerable to Russian assaults.
“The M777 gun crews are out in the open and they're towed by light-skinned vehicles,” he said. “So they're very vulnerable to fighter jets to attack helicopters and to relatively sophisticated forces such as the Russians have.”
The federal government said Friday it's finalizing contracts to buy commercial pattern armoured vehicles that will be sent to Ukraine as soon as possible.
It's also negotiating a service contract for maintenance and repair of the specialized drone cameras that have already been sent.
The government set aside another $500 million in the recently released budget to provide military aid to Ukraine, after committing $118 million worth of equipment since January.
Earlier on Friday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Russia should be booted from the G20 over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
It was a key topic of discussion during meetings this week of finance ministers and central bankers from the group of nations in Washington, D.C.
Freeland said Russia doesn't have a place at the table among countries trying to maintain prosperity when its illegal war in Ukraine has strained the global economy.
But in her comments during a closing news conference alongside her Ukrainian counterpart and International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, Freeland hinted that the feeling isn't unanimous.
China has argued against removing Russia from the group.
“You can't be a poacher and gamekeeper at the same time,” Freeland said about why Russia should be expelled.
“You don't invade and try to take over another country. Having violated that principle, and continuing to violate it with an ongoing war, it's impossible to talk about international collaboration, international co-operative efforts with Russia.”
Freeland, along with other allies, walked out of the G20 meeting when the Russian delegation looked to speak. She said Canada won't be a part of any meeting where Russia is taking part.
The invasion has lasted nearly two months, killing thousands and leading 5.1 million people to flee Ukraine.
Get in touch
Do you have any questions about the attack on Ukraine? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.
Please include your name, location, and contact information if you are willing to speak to a journalist with CTV News.
Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2022.
A national tracking system for health-care workers, with information on what training they have, where they're located and what their career plans are, would make a 'significant difference' in addressing future staffing challenges, the president of the Canadian Medical Association says.
A massive power outage is currently affecting the downtown core in Toronto and officials say it may have been caused by a large crane that struck a high-voltage transmission line.
A Canadian Armed Forces veteran has been charged with murder in connection to a mass shooting in Belize that left two people dead and eight others injured.
Tax experts are warning a new tax on yachts, luxury cars and private aircraft designed to hit the super-rich could also cover some electric and hybrid cars.
Making baby food at home with store-bought produce isn't going to reduce the amount of toxic heavy metals in the food your baby eats, according to a new report released exclusively to CNN.
In 2002, the owners of the mill in Dryden, Ont. started a project to reduce emissions, but workers on the construction project complain that they were exposed to toxic chemicals that damaged their health. CTV's W5 spoke with some of the workers about what they went through.
Experts say dangerous warning signs are missed in parents who could harm or kill their child. Up to 40 kids are killed this way each year in Canada. CTV W5 looks into why this is happening, and if there are ways to prevent it.
In its latest episode 'Putin's pals', W5 takes an in-depth look into who Russia's oligarchs are, and whether sanctioning them would stop President Vladimir Putin’s invasion in Ukraine.
Dawn Carisse went missing from the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital more than 2 decades ago. She vanished without a trace. Now a private investigator turned podcaster is finding new clues for her family.
Professional hockey player Tori Sullivan speaks out publicly for the first time to TSN and W5's Rick Westhead, about the trauma of an alleged campus sexual assault and her dismissal from Boston College's hockey team.
A massive power outage is currently affecting the downtown core in Toronto and officials say it may have been caused by a large crane that struck a high-voltage transmission line.
Police plan to release more details about a brazen daylight attack on a Brampton, Ont. media personality last week that was caught on surveillance camera.
Animal services officers at the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth (HSKWSP) say they have witnessed an increasing trend of traps being set to capture or harm local wildlife.
The City of London has created a new pilot project that will allow permit vendors to operate on Dundas Place between Ridout Street and Wellington downtown.
An American teenager who was seriously injured in a drive-by shooting in Laval, Que. during a family vacation three months ago was finally released from hospital, but still isn't able to walk on his own.
A new study shows that religious minorities in Quebec, particularly women, feel less safe and less welcome in the social fabric of society since the adoption of the province's secularism law, commonly known as Bill 21.
A climatologist says the wildfires that have been burning for more than two weeks in central Newfoundland could be a sign of what's to come as the province feels the impacts of climate change.
The Edmonton Oilers shared memories of superfan Ben Stelter on Thursday. Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and head coach Jay Woodcroft held a virtual press conference to speak about the six-year-old.
The ongoing protests in the Netherlands, by farmers opposed to their government’s plan to slash nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, have drawn attention to Canadian farmers’ concerns over an emissions reduction target set by the Canadian government. But the policies set out by the Dutch government and the Canadian government are fundamentally different, experts say.
Ontario's health minister is emphasizing today that people in the province will always be able to access health care without paying out of pocket, a day after she came under fire for refusing to rule out further privatization in the system.
Doctors are among those calling for tighter regulation of sodium nitrite as a growing number of Canadians are dying after intentionally ingesting unsafe quantities of the common food preservative in its pure form.
Africa's public health agency says the continent of 1.3 billion people still does not have a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine, but "very advanced discussions" are underway with at least two partners.
As concerns about social media's harmful effects on teens continue to rise, platforms from Snapchat to TikTok to Instagram are bolting on new features they say will make their services safer and more age appropriate. But the changes rarely address the elephant in the the room -- the algorithms pushing endless content that can drag anyone, not just teens, into harmful rabbit holes.
Olivia Newton-John, the singer and 'Grease' star who died on Monday in the United States, will receive a state memorial service in Australia, Victorian state Premier Dan Andrews announced Thursday.
For lending the iconic melody from 'Vogue' to Beyonce's new 'Break My Soul' remix, Madonna received a new title: 'masterpiece genius,' bestowed upon her by Bey herself.
Workers at Metro Inc. are putting in overtime to keep stores open as the company grapples with an ongoing labour crunch, the Montreal-based grocery and drugstore retailer said Wednesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in South Carolina on Wednesday to begin what is expected to be at least a seven-day vacation with members of his family.
The unofficial mascot of Team New Brunswick -- who had been reported missing -- has finally arrived at the Canada Summer Games in Ontario's Niagara region.
The Edmonton Oilers say they are mourning the death of Ben Stelter, a six-year-old boy with cancer whom the team rallied around during their run to the Western Conference final.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. dipped to just under the US$4 mark for the first time in more than five months -- good news for consumers who are struggling with high prices for many other essentials.
Bolivia's decision to open an alternate route to its historic 'Death Road' - a serpentine dirt path across the towering Andes hills known for its deadly cliffs - has led to a resurgence of wildlife in the area, according to an environmental group.
