Will Canada give Ukraine tanks? Trudeau says no details yet as Germany OKs exports
Global News
The Canadian government has yet to take a firm position on whether it will give Ukraine some of its Leopard battle tanks, but has vowed continued support for the war-torn nation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not commit to supplying Ukraine with any of the Canadian military’s Leopard battle tanks on Wednesday, despite Germany approving their exports from allied nations.
Facing calls from Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Wednesday that Berlin would not only give allied nations the green light to send the German-made tanks, but would also send 14 of its own Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv.
The Canadian Forces have roughly 112 Leopard 2s in several configurations, and the tanks were acquired from Germany in 2007 during the height of the war in Afghanistan
Allied nations like Poland and Finland have said they will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but Trudeau, who has yet to take a definitive position on the issue, continued to take that stance when asked by reporters in Hamilton.
“Canada has stepped up significantly and without hesitation to support the Ukrainian people and Ukraine itself in its defence of the sovereignty of its territorial integrity, of the principles and values that underpin all of our democracies against Russia’s illegal and horrific invasion,” he said.
“We will continue to be there to give whatever support we can to Ukraine. I won’t be making an announcement today, but I can tell you we are looking very, very closely at what more we can do to support Ukraine.”
The Department of National Defence did not elaborate further Wednesday morning, referring Global News to Trudeau’s remarks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he was “sincerely grateful” to Germany and Scholz for Berlin’s “important and timely” decision to provide Kyiv with battle tanks. The Globe and Mail reported last week that Ukraine intends to ask Canada for some of its Leopard 2 main battle tanks if Germany approves the re-export of the weaponry.
The heckler interrupted actor Vanessa Williams as she performed 'The Star-Spangled Banner' just before tipoff at the game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic.
The EU is scheduled to convene a summit to discuss Greenland as U.S. President Donald Trump says he is under 'no obligation' to pursue peace.
Thousands of high-level participants from business, government and beyond are converging in the Swiss town of Davos for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.
The crash occurred Sunday at 7:45 p.m. when the tail end of a train carrying 289 passengers on the route from Malaga to the capital, Madrid, went off the rails.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country’s central Biobio region and the neighboring Ñuble region.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will complete a long-stalled investment agreement with Qatar following his meeting Sunday with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
European and Canadian leaders have condemned Trump’s threatened tariffs over Greenland, emphasizing respect for Danish sovereignty and Arctic security.
France has hiked ticket prices at the Louvre for visitors from outside the European Union, a move that is fuelling debate over the growing backlash against overtourism.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new deal with Beijing on electric vehicles and canola at the end of a high-profile trip on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
X, formerly Twitter, was down for tens of thousands of users worldwide on Friday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.
The U.S. was joined by Iranian dissidents in rebuking the government’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say has killed at least 2,600 people.
Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez, who has been under pressure from the U.S. to fall in line, said oil sales revenue would go to bolster domestic services.