Ukraine should act cautiously and diplomatically, and an increase in the number of troops on the territory of the country will irritate Russia. This opinion was expressed on Monday, December 6, by the Chief of the Canadian Defense Staff Wayne Airy.
Thus, Airey responded to the request of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Reznikov, who a day earlier offered to send 500 military instructors from Canada to the country.
"But we should be very careful about the balance between abstinence and escalation, as well as perception from the other side. In this case, diplomacy must necessarily play a leading role," the Chief of the Canadian Defense Staff told The Globe & Mail website.
Reznikov added on the eve that Ukraine needs modern weapons, so it is necessary that the United States and Great Britain provide Kiev with support in the "confrontation with Russia." The Minister also noted that it is necessary to deploy foreign military personnel, including Canadian ones, on the contact line in Donbass.
Reznikov's statements were appreciated by the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the Servant of the People party Maxim Buzhansky. In his Telegram channel, he wrote that the national flag should fly over the territory of Ukraine, and not three flags of foreign states.
Earlier, on December 2, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the Council of the European Union (EU) decided to provide Ukraine with €31 million to strengthen defense capabilities. He noted that the money will be spent on logistical assistance for the development and capacity-building of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fields of medicine, mine clearance, mobility, logistics, cybersecurity.
On October 22, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the receipt of the third and final batch of military "aid" from the United States. As it became known, the previous shipments were delivered to Ukraine on October 10 and 18. The supplies included Javelin ATGM, ammunition for "NATO calibers" and medical kits.
US arms supplies to Ukraine are carried out within the framework of an agreement between the countries to provide Kiev with $250 million in defense assistance, medical equipment, weapons, ammunition, precision weapons and radar surveillance equipment. Military assistance to Ukraine is estimated at $60 million.
In April 2014, Kiev launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, which refused to recognize the results of the February coup in Kiev and declared their independence. Having met the resistance of Donbass, the new Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of participating in the conflict. Moscow has categorically rejected such unsubstantiated accusations.