Canada plans to produce millions of drones over the next two years and send a third of them to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought increased support from allies against Russia's invasion. Ukraine is facing intensified pressure from Russia's air campaign, which employs ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to breach defenses. Moscow's attacks have targeted Ukraine's power grid in an effort to demoralize civilians ahead of winter, according to officials.
Carney mentioned that Canada's armed forces currently possess approximately 2,000 drones but will require millions in the coming years. He announced that contracts revealed on Thursday would expand the Canadian military's drone fleet tenfold. "Importantly, one-third of all the drones we manufacture will go to support Ukraine's defense of its homeland," Carney said during Zelenskyy's three-day visit to Canada.
Zelenskyy noted that enhanced drone cooperation would bolster Ukraine's defense capacity while providing Canada with access to technology proven in modern warfare. Additionally, Carney announced a package of critical air-defense interceptors for Ukraine valued at 350 million Canadian dollars (approximately $254 million), which will be delivered through a U.S. mechanism. Zelenskyy described the package as "crucial," emphasizing that air-defense systems are in short supply globally.
Canada will also offer over 430 million Canadian dollars (around $312 million) in loan guarantees to assist Ukraine in purchasing natural gas ahead of winter and to contribute to Ukraine's Energy Security Fund. Carney affirmed that Canada would continue to support Ukraine even after the conflict concludes, stating, "Ukrainians helped build Canada, and Canadians will help rebuild Ukraine," and that the approach would be to "deter and fortify" rather than rely on Russia.
Zelenskyy remarked that Russia has altered its tactics as winter approaches, necessitating that Ukraine adapt its defenses. He expressed that the optimal resolution would be to conclude the war through diplomacy but emphasized the need for Ukraine to strengthen its position before engaging in meaningful negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We need to be strong, not to be weak," Zelenskyy stated, adding that Ukraine requires a "strong and lasting peace."
On Thursday, Zelenskyy indicated that he did not anticipate significant negotiations with Russia during its election period but expected to meet U.S. officials in New York at the end of September. He mentioned that his national security advisers maintain daily communication with their American counterparts regarding preparations for a potential trilateral meeting.
Zelenskyy arrived in Calgary, Alberta, on Wednesday night, following a drone incursion that led to the closure of Moldova's airspace, which delayed his flight to Norway. The aerial drone conflict between Russia and Ukraine has expanded since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Ukraine's neighbors Romania and Moldova, along with other European countries, reporting multiple drone incursions.
A Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad resulted in four fatalities and over 60 injuries, as reported by Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Ganzha on Telegram on Thursday afternoon. Additionally, a Russian drone strike in the Kyiv region killed one person and injured two others, according to regional head Tymur Tkachenko.
Russian forces launched 149 drones, many of which were jet-propelled, at Ukraine overnight, as stated by Ukraine's air force on Thursday. Concurrently, one person was killed and six others injured in Ukrainian drone strikes in the Belgorod border region, local officials reported.
A Ukrainian sea drone attack injured 28 individuals, including two children, on the waterfront in the Russian city of Sochi, with local officials noting damage to beach infrastructure but providing no further details. Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that its forces shot down 448 Ukrainian drones overnight, which were destroyed over 13 Russian regions, including the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black and Caspian seas.
Falling debris from a Ukrainian drone ignited a fire in a home in Russia's southwestern Voronezh region, resulting in one fatality and two injuries, according to local Governor Alexander Gusev on Thursday. Ukrainian forces targeted eight Russian infrastructure sites supporting the war effort in the past 24 hours, including a refinery in the Yamalo-Nenets region and a port in Dagestan, as reported by Zelenskyy.
Targets in the Moscow, Voronezh, Astrakhan, and Bryansk regions were also attacked, highlighting the extensive reach of Ukraine's domestically developed long-range drone technology, which has raised concerns in Russia. The previous day, Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery located over 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) from Ukraine in Siberia, as confirmed by Ukraine's General Staff, corroborating earlier reports.