Ottawa condemns Russian threats against Canadian firms-Ukraine drone deal – National
The federal government on Thursday condemned Russian threats against Canada and any companies involved in a recently signed drone production agreement with Ukraine.
Kremlin Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday called Canada a “warmongering” country for signing the deal, which will see Canadian-made drones on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine war for use by the Ukrainian military.
Zakharova added that Russia has the right to respond and vowed to publish the addresses of all Canadian manufacturing facilities involved in the drone deal.
In a statement sent by Global News in response to Zakharova’s comments, Global Affairs Canada said the government “condemns all threats made by Russia against Canadian positions.”
“Canada’s position is clear and unwavering: we stand firmly with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s unrepentant and unjustified aggression,” the department said.
“We continue to condemn Russian aggression in the strongest terms and are committed to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and long-term security. There is only one aggressor in this war, and that is Russia.”
Defense Minister David McGuinty, who signed the drone deal with his Ukrainian counterpart late last month at the CANSEC defense exhibition in Ottawa, told reporters that Russia’s comments were “unexpected” and would not derail the deal.
“We’ve seen this before,” he told reporters. “It’s not something they target only in Canada, they target other nations.
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“We can expect the Russian people to criticize because they don’t see that NATO is coming together to help a country in need.”
McGuinty added that the Canadian Armed Forces are “monitoring things closely.”
The Department of National Defense says that under the agreement, the drones will be manufactured by Ukrainian company Airlogix and Canadian drone maker Sentinel R&D, based in Hamilton, Ont.
Both companies will develop drone systems in Canada that will be sent directly to the Ukrainian military under a joint venture.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday posted a photo of a red hand over the Canadian government’s statement about the deal, and quoted Zakharova as saying that Canada had “moved to a new level of involvement in the Ukraine crisis.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought drone production and technology sharing agreements with other NATO and G20 partners, as Ukraine uses drones to strike deep into Russian territory and push back Russian forces on the front lines.
In April, the Russian Defense Ministry published the European addresses of several Ukrainian drone manufacturers, warning that joint production could escalate the conflict and lead to “unexpected consequences.”
“We consider this decision as a deliberate step that leads to a significant escalation of the military and political situation in the entire European continent and the disturbing transformation of these countries into the strategic background of Ukraine,” the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused the West of encouraging Ukraine to continue the war, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to participate in peace talks unless his aggressive ambitions are met.
The leaders of France, Germany and Britain met with Zelenskyy in London last Sunday and supported his call for a ceasefire.
Putin told foreign journalists in St. Petersburg last week that he is willing to talk to European politicians but they are not the right people to end the war. He suggested that US President Donald Trump’s peace proposals could help end the fighting.
US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia have largely broken down since the US began its war with Iran in late February.
On Monday, Zelenskyy said he had good talks with US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner when they stopped at the airport in the capital of Moldova, describing them as focused on ending the war.
In a social media post, he said the two sides had discussed communication opportunities ahead of this month’s Group of Seven summit and that he had informed the US side of Ukraine’s assessment of Russia’s intentions.
-With files from the Associated Press and Reuters
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