Canada pledges $24.5 million for Ukraine's air defense equipment

Canada will contribute C$33 million ($24.5 million) to a British-led partnership buying air defense equipment for Ukraine to help it fend off Russian missile and drone attacks.

FILE PHOTO: Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair speaks during a meeting of the special committee on the COVID-19 pandemic, as efforts continue to help slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will contribute C$33 million ($24.5 million) to a British-led partnership that is buying air defense equipment for Ukraine to help it fend off Russian missile and drone attacks, Defence Minister Bill Blair said on Sunday.

In a statement, Blair said the contribution was part of the

C$500 million worth of military aid for Kyiv that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in June.

Canada, home to one of the world's largest Ukrainian diasporas, is a vocal supporter of Kyiv. Since Russia invaded in February 2022, Ottawa has committed over C$8 billion in aid, including around C$1.8 billion in military assistance.

The partnership, which also includes the United States, the Netherlands and Denmark, aims to buy hundreds of short- and medium-range air defense missiles and associated systems.

($1 = 1.3523 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by David Gregorio)