Canada sending rocket motors, spare parts to Ukraine in latest aid package

Canada is donating tens of thousands of rocket motors, a handful of surplus warheads and the decommissioned chassis of nearly 100 armoured vehicles to Ukraine as part of its latest military support package.

Defence Minister Bill Blair also announced Friday details of Canada's plan to contribute to F-16 pilot training for the Ukrainians — a $389 million investment by the federal government that will be spent over five years. The funding was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the NATO summit in Washington last July.

It's the latest in a series of donation announcements by the federal government and it comes as allied defence ministers meet in Ramstein, Germany to assess military support for the embattled Eastern European country.

The Liberal government has faced political pressure from the Opposition Conservatives to donate surplus air-to-surface CRV-7 rockets, tens of thousands of which are no longer being used by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The 1980s-vintage rockets were in storage and awaiting disposal. The Department of National Defence said only the motors were in good enough condition to be donated; more than 2,100 have been shipped already.

Blair said Friday an additional 80,840 rocket motors and 1,300 warheads will now be sent to Ukraine through Poland over the next few months.

The minister also announced that Canada will donate the decommissioned chassis from 29 M113s and 64 Coyote LAVs, formerly used by the Canadian Army. The vehicles will be further broken down by the Ukrainians and used for spare parts in other donated vehicles.

Several countries have donated M113 armoured personnel carriers to the government in Kyiv, but maintenance has been an ongoing source of concern.

Last spring, Oleksandra Ustinova,