Canada considering sending 4 Leopard tanks to Ukraine: sources
CBC
Canada is considering contributing four Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, senior sources told CBC News — but no decision has been made.
The government could announce the donation of tanks as early as Thursday, the sources said.
CBC News is not identifying the confidential sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
One source said Canada is likely to send Ukraine the A4 variant of the tank — the oldest in the Canadian military's inventory. Canada bought the A4s from the Netherlands during the Afghan war.
The Globe and Mail first reported the number of tanks that Canada may send to Ukraine's war effort.
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Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will provide more support to Ukraine but declined to join allies in announcing a donation of German-made tanks to fend off Russian forces.
One military expert said Germany's announcement that it's sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine puts pressure on Trudeau to follow suit.
"We will continue to be there to give whatever support we can to Ukraine," Trudeau said. "I won't be making an announcement today but I can tell you we're looking very, very closely at what more we can do to support Ukraine."
Trudeau made the remarks in Hamilton, Ont., where he is attending a cabinet retreat in advance of the return of Parliament.
For weeks, Ukraine has been asking its allies to supply it with up to 300 German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks. Several allies have those tanks in their inventories but were unable to donate them unless Germany gave its approval for the vehicles to be transferred to a third party.
Earlier Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his country would provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks from his own military.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany advised several allies of its plan ahead of the announcement, including Canada.
"Germany will always be at the forefront when it comes to supporting Ukraine," Scholz said later in an address to lawmakers in the German federal parliament.
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