Canada has decided to “temporarily relocate” some of its military personnel stationed in Ukraine elsewhere in Europe, due to the situation in the region, the Canadian Ministry of National Defense announced on Sunday.
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The ministry specifies in a press release that this temporary repositioning of “elements” of its contingent assigned to the training of the Ukrainian army “does not mean the end of the mission” of the Canadian military, but allows Canada to “refocus its efforts while ensuring the safety of members of the Canadian Armed Forces”.
Ottawa did not give details on the number of the soldiers concerned or on the place of their repositioning.
Some 200 Canadian soldiers have been deployed since 2015 in Ukraine as part of the UNIFIER mission, which contributes to the training of Ukrainian forces.
“The Canadian Armed Forces remain committed to the people of Ukraine and their mission to increase the capabilities of Ukraine’s security forces,” says Ottawa.
The United States had reported at the end of the week the withdrawal from Ukraine of 160 soldiers who were training Ukrainian forces.
Canada announced on Saturday the temporary closure of its embassy in Kiev and the transfer of its operations to a temporary office in Lviv (west), due to the deterioration of the situation caused by the deployment of Russian troops at the border.