Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that his country is exploring all possible options and is not ruling out sending troops to Ukraine after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new “coalition of the willing” to deploy forces for securing a peace deal with Moscow.
During an emergency meeting in London on Sunday, Starmer emphasised that while some nations have little to contribute, those willing must act with urgency.
His remarks were met with a positive response from Trudeau, who confirmed that Canada would consider deploying its troops in Ukraine.
“Canada has looked at the ways it can best help, and as I said a few days ago, everything’s on the table,” Trudeau said, stressing that his country “has been one of the strongest countries in support of Ukraine from the beginning.”
As an example of Canada’s leadership in aiding Kyiv, Trudeau highlighted a joint effort with the UK and Poland, under which they have “provided military training to over 44,000 Ukrainian troops” since 2015—an average of roughly 4,400 per year.
He also cited “almost $20 billion” ($13.8 billion USD) in “multifaceted assistance” to Kyiv. However, Germany’s Kiel Institute estimates Ottawa’s total contribution at around $8.6 billion, ranking it the fifth-largest individual state donor after the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan.
Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded with amusement to Trudeau’s remarks, saying, “Canada does not have enough troops to protect its own borders.”
“How can they mobilise their resources for another country when the US is trying to absorb it as the 51st state?” she asked.
“And who will protect Canadian soil in the event of a northward expansion of the United States? Ukrainians who fled to Canada from mobilisation,” Zakharova quipped.
French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that European troops would only be deployed once the situation on the ground improves.
He proposed a temporary month-long “truce in the air, on the seas, and on energy infrastructure”—an idea that Moscow has previously denounced as a Western ploy to rearm and bolster Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Moscow has strongly opposed the deployment of unauthorised foreign troops to Ukraine, warning that without a UN mandate, they would be considered legitimate targets.
