Canada sent the first U.S.-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to Ukraine, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told President Volodymyr Zelensky on Nov. 4.
"We expect to receive it by the end of this year," Zelensky said after the call.
Trudeau announced in January 2023 that the country would purchase the $406 million NASAMS for Kyiv. Ottawa reportedly paid for the system later in the spring, but its delivery has been delayed.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky said that Ukraine has begun receiving increasingly more military assistance from partners, namely in terms of artillery.
The NASAMS systems have been in service with Ukrainian forces since November 2022, when the U.S. delivered the first batteries amid the escalating Russian airstrikes.
Ukraine has lobbied international partners for more air defense capabilities in the wake of intensifying Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure.
Canada has committed 4.5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.2 billion) in military aid for Kyiv since the start of Russia's all-out war.
Kateryna Hodunova
