Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (R) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an arrival ceremony at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 17, 2025. (Photo by Teresa Suarez / POOL / AFP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged an extra $2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine for this fiscal year to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
“Four years on, Russia is failing militarily, strategically and economically, and we are in it for the long term,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Feb. 24.
“Russia is failing. The sooner they come to the table and actually participate in peace negotiations, the better it will be.”
Canada has committed more than $25.5 billion in assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, including more than $13 billion in direct financial aid.
Carney said Canada will be donating 400 armoured vehicles to Ukraine’s military as well as levying new sanctions on shadow oil tankers moving Russian crude oil in attempts to dodge Western sanctions and price caps. The vessels are often older ships operating via shell companies, sailing under various flags or switching off their tracking systems to bypass Western restrictions on Russia exporting its oil.
“This is the fleet that effectively facilitates illegal exports of crude oil,” Carney said. “So we’re tightening that lifeblood from the Russian economy.”
Canada will further reduce the price cap on Russian crude oil, while also contributing $20 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to help finance the repair of energy infrastructure damaged or destroyed by Russian airstrikes, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Ottawa also confirmed it is renewing Operation UNIFIER, a military training mission launched in 2015 in partnership with Ukraine’s armed forces following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Defence Minister David McGuinty told reporters the continuation of Operation UNIFIER will expand Canada’s role in training Ukrainian forces. Canada has trained approximately 47,000 members of Ukraine’s military since its inception in 2015, he said.
“Canada has been by Ukraine’s side since the very beginning, and we will remain so,” McGuinty said during a Feb. 24 press scrum, adding that Ottawa is confident it can replenish Canadian Forces equipment despite the donation of the armoured vehicles.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the new measures announced Feb. 24 are part of Canada’s “shoulder-to-shoulder” support for Ukraine, adding that sanctions will be applied to Russian individuals and companies, mainly in the energy sector.
A Global Affairs Canada announcement says Ottawa is adding targeted sanctions against 21 individuals and 53 entities.
Anand told reporters that Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP are providing oversight on the enforcement of sanctions against Russia.
The latest funding and assistance announcement came as G7 leaders issued a Feb. 24 joint statement in which they expressed “unwavering support for Ukraine” and backed ongoing peace efforts by the European Union and the United States.