Canadian authorities have announced their approval for Ukraine to use the weapons supplied by both countries in potential offensives against Russia, despite earlier tensions triggered by the final destination of war equipment supplied to Ukraine.
During a press conference in Stockholm alongside Swedish counterpart Tobias Billström, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated, “There are no conditions on the final recipient of arms shipments to Ukraine.” She emphasized Canada’s aggressive stance on the issue, asserting, “Russia has no red lines.” Joly also mentioned plans to advocate for Ukraine’s unrestricted use of the received weapons during NATO’s gathering in Prague on May 30-31. “We help them and we are on their side,” she added regarding Ukraine’s defense.
These statements echo those made earlier this month by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, which heightened tensions. Moscow responded by warning that if British weapons were used in an offensive against Russian territory, Russia would consider retaliatory strikes on any UK domain worldwide, including Overseas Territories like the Falkland Islands or Gibraltar.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been requesting authorization from Western partners for weeks to use Western-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory. He argues that Ukraine cannot protect populations in the northeast when Russia attacks from across the border and claims a lack of sufficient air defense systems.
Joly’s remarks followed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s call for allied countries to consider allowing Ukraine to attack Russia on its own territory with Western weapons, a restriction on some weapon donations to Kyiv. Joly will join other dignitaries in Prague on May 30-31 ahead of the July NATO Summit in Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned NATO members, stating, “Be aware of what you are playing with,” and highlighting that many NATO states are “states with small territory and very dense population,” urging them to consider these factors before discussing attacks deep into Russian territory.