Canada to donate over 800 drones to Ukraine

(Patria) - Canada will donate over 800 SkyRanger R70 unmanned aerial systems to Ukraine to help in its war with Russia, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said.

The drones, sourced from Teledyne in Waterloo, Ontario, are valued at over 95 million Canadian dollars ($70.44 million), the ministry said, adding the donation is funded from 500 million Canadian dollars in military aid announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a visit to Kyiv last year, Reuters reports.

“Today’s announcement ensures that Ukraine has the drones it needs to detect and identify targets that are crucial to the Ukrainian fight. Canada will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Blair said.

Since February 2022, Canada has provided over 9.7 billion Canadian dollars in aid to Ukraine, including over 2.4 billion Canadian dollars in military assistance, the country’s defence ministry said in a statement.

Most recently, during a meeting with NATO allies in Brussels on February 14, Blair said that Canada would donate over 60 million Canadian dollars to Ukraine.