Kyiv urgently needs weapons amid the summer offensive, while Canada is still counting the guns, CBC reports. The Canadian federal government has yet to fulfill its commitment to transfer firearms seized through the government’s banned weapons buyback program to Ukraine, despite promises made last year.
As of 12 June, Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in offensive actions in Sumy Oblast, with Russian troops making some tactical gains northeast of Sumy City. Russian forces are also advancing from the border to bring Kharkiv City within tube artillery range.
Although Canada pledged in December 2024 to deliver some of the assault rifles confiscated from civilians to Ukraine, not a single weapon has been sent for military use so far.
During the first phase of the buyback program, over 12,000 banned firearms were purchased from businesses. However, the government has yet to determine how many of these could be transferred to Ukraine.
“The Government of Canada continues to work with businesses to identify prohibited firearms in their inventory of NATO calibre that could be donated to Ukraine,” said Max Watson, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Safety.
When the program was announced in December, the government stated it was working with Ukraine to identify which specific weapon models could be used in the conflict.
The banned weapons buyback program expanded the list of prohibited firearms from around 1,500 to over 2,000 models. The weapons purchased from businesses are to be destroyed, except for those planned for shipment to Ukraine.