Instead of planned disposal, Canada considers transferring air-to-ground missiles to Ukraine

Canada may transfer tens of thousands of air-to-ground missiles to the Ukrainian army that were planned to be disposed of. However, no final decision has been made yet, and discussions on this issue in parliament are ongoing.

In particular, opposition leader Pierre Poilievre supports the transfer of missiles to Ukraine. During a debate in the House of Commons on a bill to update the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, the politician said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine need these missiles. This was reported by the CBC.

According to him, the Canadian Armed Forces have a stockpile of more than 83,000 CRV7 missiles that were decommissioned in the early 2000s. Three years ago, the federal government signed a contract to dispose of the missiles over several years. However, Poilievre said Ukraine has asked Canada to donate the CRV7s instead of destroying them.

"It's time for less talk and more action. Instead of forcing Canadians to pay millions of dollars to write off these weapons, they should be donated to Ukraine for it to use them to defend its sovereignty," the opposition politician said.

It is worth noting that the Canadian Department of National Defense has acknowledged that it still has the missiles, and they are being considered as part of a possible future military aid package to Kyiv. However, the defense ministry explained that Canada still has tens of thousands of missiles and their engines. However, without warheads.

Defense Minister Bill Blair's spokesman confirmed that the government is considering the possibility of transferring missiles to Ukraine. However, he said that before sending weapons to Ukraine, Canada must ensure that this assistance meets the military needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"We are applying the same process to the stockpile of CRV7 missiles purchased decades ago by the US Air Force. In particular, we are conducting tests to make sure that this equipment is operationally effective and safe for transportation to Ukraine," the Defense Ministry spokesman said.

CRV7 is a Canadian 70 mm caliber unguided air-to-ground missile with a folding wing designed to strike ground targets. The missile was adopted in the early 1970s. It remains one of the most powerful unguided missiles to this day, having become the de facto standard aircraft missile of Western countries (except the United States) and their allies.

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