Stag Special
Today, Defence Minister Anita Anand welcomed her Polish counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, to Ottawa May 8 for a bilateral meeting.
Anand and Błaszczak reaffirmed both countries will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Both Canada and Poland have been leaders in providing assistance to Ukraine, with Canada having committed more than $1-billion in military aid and more than $8-billion in combined military, economic, humanitarian, and other aid.
She commended Poland’s outstanding support to Ukraine, and both ministers agreed on the importance of the US.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group as a forum for co-ordinating donations of military aid to Ukraine
Anand thanked Błaszczak for Poland’s collaboration with Canada to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Under Op UNIFIER, Canada currently has approximately 80 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel deployed to Poland, where they are:
• training Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) sappers on a range of basic and advanced engineering skills, engineering reconnaissance, the use of explosives for demolition work, and demining;
• training AFU tank crews on the use of Leopard 2 main battle tanks; and
• training members of the AFU with the skills needed to save lives in combat situations.
These ongoing training efforts build on the CAF’s previous deployment to Poland from April to July 2022, when up to 150 CAF members deployed to Poland and worked in reception centres which co-ordinated the onward movement of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and across Europe. She also noted the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has transported more than eight million pounds of Ukraine-bound military aid donated by Canada and its Allies, and commended Poland for its collaboration.
Anand lauded Błaszczak for Poland’s leadership in hosting a maintenance and service centre in partnership with Germany and Ukraine to sustain the Leopard 2 main battle tanks donated to Ukraine.
The two leaders also highlighted the Canada-Poland Defence Co-operation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which they signed on Oct. 11, 2022 during Anand’s visit to Poland. The MOU creates new opportunities for Canadian and Polish military and civilian personnel to learn from one another, train together, and enable cross-industry defence collaboration to modernize military technology.
She reaffirmed Canada’s ironclad commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance, and highlighted Canada’s continued efforts to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank – notably by leading the multinational enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Group in Latvia. She also welcomed the significant defence capabilities which Poland contributes to eFP Battle Group Latvia and NATO’s deterrence and defence posture.
Finally, she noted her discussions during the past few months with Polish-Canadian community leaders who have shown remarkable dedication and compassion by contributing their time and resources to support Ukrainian arrivals in Canada. She commended the leadership shown by the Polish-Canadian community and by the Polish government to support Ukrainians.
CAF mentors work with Ukrainian soldiers in Poland as part of Op UNIFIER. Photos MS Valerie LeClair/Cpl Jeffrey Clement
