Canada may send troops to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Moscow wondered whether Ottawa had sufficient forces to defend its own borders.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that his country is considering all possible options and does not rule out the possibility of deploying troops, after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new “voluntary coalition” aimed at securing Kyiv’s position should a peace agreement be reached with Moscow.
Starmer chaired an emergency meeting in London on March 2nd, where he acknowledged that, while some countries were contributing almost nothing, those willing to participate needed to act urgently. When asked whether Canada was considering deploying troops, Trudeau affirmed that all scenarios were possible.
“Canada has been looking at ways in which it can best support, and as I said a few days ago, all options are being considered,” Trudeau stated, emphasizing that Canada “has been one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine from the beginning.”
To demonstrate Canada's leadership role in supporting Kyiv, Prime Minister Trudeau highlighted a joint effort with the UK and Poland, whereby they have "provided military training to more than 44,000 Ukrainian soldiers" since 2015 – an average of about 4,400 soldiers per year. He also mentioned "nearly CAD 20 billion" (equivalent to USD 13.8 billion) of "multifaceted aid" to Ukraine. However, Germany's Kiel Institute estimates Ottawa's total contribution at only around USD 8.6 billion, making Canada the fifth-largest donor, behind the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to Trudeau's statement, questioning whether Canada has enough troops to defend its own borders – alluding to US President Donald Trump's joke about annexing Canada as the 51st state of the US.
"So who will defend Canadian territory if the US expands northward? Perhaps the Ukrainians who have fled to Canada to avoid conscription," Zakharova quipped.
On March 2, Mr. Starmer stressed that "not every country feels it can contribute, but that doesn't mean we're sitting idly by," adding that Britain "is ready to support by deploying troops on the ground and aircraft in the air, alongside other countries."
French President Emmanuel Macron declared that European troops would only be deployed when the situation on the ground was deemed safe enough for them. He proposed a “temporary ceasefire for one month in the air, at sea, and on energy infrastructure”—an idea Moscow had previously condemned as a Western ploy to rearm and bolster Kyiv.
Moscow firmly opposes the deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine without UN authorization, warning that they would be considered legitimate targets. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the idea of deploying foreign troops to Ukraine – primarily promoted by France and Britain – aims to “further incite conflict and prevent any attempts to de-escalate the situation.”
