The federal government will donate more than 800 unmanned aircraft to support the war effort in Ukraine, Defense Secretary Bill Blair announced on Monday.
The SkyRanger R70 drone is manufactured in Waterloo, Ontario and can carry up to 3.5 kg. Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday that drones could be combined with surveillance cameras to carry out reconnaissance missions.
“These drones will help Ukraine’s front-line forces quickly assess targets and threats accurately and effectively,” Blair said at a press conference in Toronto.
The cost of the drones (about $95 million) is being covered by a $500 million military aid package announced by the government in June. Prime Minister Blair said the drones are expected to be delivered to Ukraine by spring.
As the Ukraine war approaches its second anniversary, Canada has announced it will donate more than 800 unmanned aircraft to Ukraine, worth a total of $95 million. Ihor Mikhalchyshyn, CEO and Executive Director of the Ukrainian Canadian Parliament, joins Power & Politics to discuss the new donation.
Next week marks two years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Canada’s announcement comes as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urges Western allies to increase military aid to his country, particularly long-range weapons.
President Zelenskiy said in a social media post on Monday that Russia was taking advantage of delays in military aid.
“The situation on the front is very difficult in some areas, especially in the areas where the Russian army concentrates the bulk of its reserves,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“We are working with our partners to resume and continue support and strengthen the strength of our domestic defense industry.”
Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked on Monday whether Canada could provide more weapons, specifically artillery shells and air defense systems.
The minister said Ottawa provided shells to Ukraine from Canada’s own stockpile. He added that the Canadian government is looking at ways to increase domestic munitions production, but warned that “it will take time.”
He also said the promise of a $406 million surface-to-air missile defense system, known by the acronym NASAMS, is caught up in a US Congressional quagmire over aid to Ukraine.
Democrats in the US Congress are seeking to pass legislation that would provide billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel and introduce new measures on immigration. But Republicans blocked the bill, arguing it didn’t include strict enough provisions around the U.S. border.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday that Canada has agreed to join the United States in purchasing NASAMS for Ukraine, but the purchase cannot be finalized until military aid is approved by Parliament.
Prime Minister Blair said: “We are fully committed to delivering these systems. Americans ourselves are facing and grappling with challenges in our political process, but that does not take away the urgency.” .
Roland Paris, a former foreign affairs adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said delays in U.S. aid are “the biggest threat to Ukraine’s defense capabilities.”
“Ukraine has a serious shortage of artillery, ammunition and air defense weapons,” he told CBC News. “We need to close that gap so that Ukraine can better defend itself against a Russian attack.”
Maria Popova, a political science professor at McGill University, echoed Paris’s argument. As an example, he cited Ukraine’s recent announcement that it would withdraw from the eastern city of Avdiivka.
“The collapse of the city is definitely a result of the blocking of aid to Ukraine in the United States in recent months,” she said.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Shirushkyi announced that troops would be withdrawn from Avdiivka, where they have been fighting Russian attacks for four months.
Capturing the city is seen as key to Moscow’s goal of securing the Donbass region. This has been a key goal of the Kremlin since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Ukraine’s withdrawal from the city of Avdiivka marks the biggest change on the front since May, when Russian forces captured the city of Bakhmut, also located in Donbas.
“Ukraine needs large-scale military assistance as soon as possible to halt or reverse further Russian gains,” Popova said.