Kiev may receive firearms banned in Canada from Ottawa

Canada has banned the use of 324 types of firearms on its territory and may transfer them to Ukraine. This was announced by the Canadian government on December 5.

"Canada has now banned 324 additional unique makes and models of assault firearms. <...> These are military-style weapons, and Ukraine has expressed interest in weapons of NATO caliber," the government said on its website.

It indicated that Ottawa has already made a promise to Kiev to work with companies to understand how these and other weapons, banned even earlier, could be donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for use in the conflict.

It is clarified that Canada has banned these types of firearms as part of a crackdown on violence in the country. Now they cannot be illegally possessed, cannot be sold in the country or imported, and transportation is allowed only in certain cases. All found weapons of prohibited types will be seized by law enforcers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, on November 4 described his phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who promised to deliver NASAMS to Ukraine by the end of this year and expressed support for Zelensky's "victory plan." In addition, the president and the head of government discussed their further joint work on the organization of the second summit on the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

Later, on November 22, the Richmond News agency, citing Canadian National Defense Minister Bill Blair, reported that the NASAMS air defense system (ADS), which Ottawa bought two years ago, had been placed at the disposal of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022, due to the worsening situation in the region as a result of Ukrainian shelling. At the same time, the West has recently been increasingly voicing statements about the need to reduce support for Kiev.