Canada unveils new aid package for Ukraine, including CRV7 rocket motors, Nanuk weapon stations

Ottawa is preparing a new defense aid package for Ukraine, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said on June 13 during a Ramstein-format meeting in Brussels.

Canada will soon send the first tranche of 2,300 decommissioned CRV7 rocket motors, which were previously used by the Canadian Air Force on CF-18 fighters.

The country's military reportedly stores 83,303 CRV7 air-to-ground unguided rockets, which were taken out of service in the early 2000s. Both Kyiv and the Canadian opposition called on the government to ship them to Ukraine instead of disposing of them in another way.

"Over the past few months, Magellan Aerospace and Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) have been testing the rocket motors to ensure their viability following a request from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for this equipment," a statement by the Canadian government read.

Ukraine will also receive 29 Nanuk remote weapons systems from the surplus of the Canadian Armed Forces' arsenal. The Nanuk system, manufactured by Rheinmetall Canada, can be installed on various armored vehicles and used for different purposes.

Canada will also send more than 130,000 rounds of surplus small round arms and has begun delivering the first four of the 50 pledged Armoured Combat Support Vehicles built in Canada.

"The first four vehicles, which are the ambulance variant of the vehicle, will be delivered to Europe in the coming weeks, where Ukrainian troops will be trained in their use," the statement read.

As of May 13, Ottawa has committed 4 billion Canadian dollars ($2.9 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine, which "will allow Canada to deliver military assistance to Ukraine through to 2029," the country's government said.

Finland, Canada, Poland don’t prohibit Ukraine from striking targets in Russia with their weapons

Representatives of Finland, Canada, and Poland issued separate statements on May 29 saying Ukraine can use their weapons to strike targets on Russian territory.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova