EOD, Medical and Policing Training
Canada is extending “Operation Unifier,” under which 200 Canadian soldiers have been providing EOD, military policing and medical training to their Ukrainian counterparts since September 2015, until 31 March 2019. The operation was originally due to come to an end this month.
Over 3,200 Ukrainian troops have so far benefited from this training, which will transition to support “strategic institutional reform of Ukraine’s defence establishment,” according to a Canadian government statement.
Some see the move as part of Canada’s message to Russia, a view reinforced by the fact that Canada will lead a multinational NATO battlegroup in Latvia, where 450 Canadian troops will arrive in June to counter Russian ambitions in Eastern Europe. Canadian support for Ukraine has to date been limited to non-lethal items, but Ukraine has been requesting assistance in the form of sniper and anti-tank weapons since 2014.
