OTTAWA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Canada will provide significant additional military aid to help train and build the capacity of Ukrainian forces, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.
"The Canadian military contribution being announced today will help Ukrainian forces personnel to better defend their country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Harper said.
Harper made his announcement following a briefing on the current security situation in Ukraine with Defense Minister Jason Kenney and General Tom Lawson, chief of the Defense Staff.
He also said Canada will deploy approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel to Ukraine until March 31, 2017, to develop and deliver military training and capacity-building programs for Ukrainian forces.
The CAF activities will include training on explosive ordnance disposal, military police tactics, field medicine, flight safety and logistics.
The training, due to begin this summer, will take place primarily at a NATO facility in Yavoriv in western Ukraine close to the Polish border, as well as a demining center of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Kamyanets-Podilsky in western Ukraine.
"Ukrainian forces personnel will benefit from the highest caliber of training from the brave men and women of our own Canadian Armed Forces. Canada will continue working with its allies to ensure a sovereign, unified and secure Ukraine," Harper said.
In 2014, Canada provided non-lethal military supplies to Ukraine, including a range of targeted protection and medical and logistical equipment such as helmets, night vision goggles and boots.
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