Ottawa will also supply Kiev with 288 AIM-7 air-to-air missiles and 10 thousand 105-millimeter shells for Western-made guns
OTTAWA, June 10. /tass/. The Canadian authorities have decided to support the efforts of Western countries in organizing training of Ukrainian pilots to control F-16 fighters. This was stated on Saturday in a statement by the press service of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following his unannounced visit to Kiev.
"Canada will contribute to multinational pilot training efforts, as well as maintenance and support of Ukrainian F-16s," the statement said.
In addition, Ottawa will supply Kiev with 288 AIM-7 air-to-air missiles and 10 thousand 105-millimeter shells for Western-made guns, and in the coming weeks will hand over the second batch of 122 armored vehicles manufactured by the Canadian firm Roshel, the deliveries of which were announced back in January. At the moment, as specified in the document, 78 such armored cars have been delivered to Ukraine.
Earlier on Saturday, during an unannounced visit to Kiev, as reported by Reuters, Trudeau said that Canada would participate in a multilateral training program for Ukrainian pilots. In addition, Ottawa will allocate a $373 million military aid package to Kiev.
On May 21, US President Joe Biden announced at a press conference following the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima that the West would begin training Ukrainian pilots in the skills of controlling fourth-generation fighters, including the F-16. At the same time, Assistant to the US President for National Security Jake Sullivan said that Washington will discuss with like-minded people in the coming months which states will transfer F-16 aircraft to Kiev.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin indicated on May 25 that Denmark and the Netherlands will lead a European coalition to train Ukrainian pilots to use the F-16. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the issue of F-16 supplies was discussed on June 1 on the sidelines of the summit of the European Political Community in Moldova. Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yuriy Sak noted that Kiev expects to receive from Western countries from 40 to 50 F-16 fighters.