Canada to Purchase Additional Tanks to Replace Those Supplied to Ukraine

Canada’s defense minister, Anita Anand, has announced that additional tanks would be purchased to replace the ones being supplied to Ukraine to ease worries about the capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces. The minister’s comments came days after Canada announced that the country would supply four more Leopard 2 combat tanks to Ukraine, boosting the total number of tanks Ottawa is sending to the conflicted nation to eight. Anand highlighted that she is striving to secure Canada’s “priority placement” in the supply chain while doing whatever is necessary from a domestic innovation viewpoint as the country seeks to replenish its supplies. Canada is also sending armored recovery vehicles and more than 5,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition to defend Kyiv against Russian forces. Meanwhile, Canada recently placed fresh sanctions on Russia, targeting 63 companies and 129 people, including the deputy prime minister and other officials of Russia. The pledge to buy more tanks comes when Canada faces difficulty retaining and recruiting personnel for the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian military is currently short of more than 10,000 trained personnel, equating to almost one in ten vacant posts. Canada is also evaluating air-based threats from the Baltic region using its new air defense system. The country is urging the regional defense sector to go on high alert and ramp up the production of military hardware.