On 26 April, Canada's Minister of National Defence Bill Blair announced the donation of 3 million Canadian dollars ($2.1 million) for the production of drones by the Ukrainian’s domestic defence industry. The announcement was made during a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. This contribution will be made in collaboration with the UK.

‘Ukrainians have been relentless in their fight for freedom, democracy, and the rules-based international order that keeps us all safe. On the two-year anniversary of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Canada reaffirms that it will stand with Ukraine for as long as victory takes,’ said Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence of Canada.

Thus, Canada joins the ZBROYARI: Manufacturing Freedom initiative. This is a global fundraising campaign aimed at raising $10 billion for the production of Ukrainian weapons this year.

‘I remember our first conversation with Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair. It was after the announcement of Canadian drones for Ukraine, for which I, of course, thanked him. But I also showed Bill the Ukrainian alternatives. Drones that we can produce right now and that are not inferior to their Canadian counterparts. My proposal was simple: buy some drones for Ukraine from Ukrainian companies. This would not only allow us to quickly produce and deliver the necessary equipment to the Defence Forces, but also support Ukraine's economy. Bill was interested, and today we have an official decision from Canada. A decision for which I am even more grateful,’ said Minister of Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin.

We express our gratitude to the entire Canadian team, as well as to the President of Ukraine, the teams of the Office of the President and Prime Minister, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - including Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Yulia Kovaliv - the Ministry of Economy, the entire team of the Ministry of Strategic Industries, parliamentarians and others involved.

As a reminder, Denmark was the first country to allocate funds for the purchase of Ukrainian weapons for the Ukrainian army. The Danish government announced that it would allocate USD 28.5 million for this purpose.