As the second anniversary of Russiaās invasion of Ukraine approaches, the latterās foreign minister says heāll be āmore than happyā if they can win the war this year.
In an exclusive interview airing Sunday, when asked whether he believes victory is possible this year, Dmytro Kuleba told CTVās Question Period host Vassy Kapelos he wonāt make any predictions.
āI'm not setting any deadlines, because I think they can be misleading, but 2024 will be a year of importance,ā Kuleba said.
āIf we can win by the end of the year, I will be more than happy,ā he added. āIf it turns out that we have to continue in 2025, we will until we win. It's very simple.ā
The interview came just ahead of Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolyās trip to Ukraine this week, during which she met with Kuleba, and announced an initiative to āreturn Ukrainian children and advance negotiations on long-term security commitments.ā
Kuleba in his interview also discussed Ukraineās need for more support, on the heels of a deal among European Union member countries to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro (C$81 billion) aid package.
U.S. Congress, however, remains at a standstill over whether to approve more aid money as well. Kuleba said he hopes American lawmakers will follow the EUās lead and increase their support for Ukraine.
Kuleba said if the U.S. does not approve its new aid package, Ukraine will keep fighting, because it has to, but that there will be more casualties.
āThe price of fighting will be much higher for us, because it will be far more difficult for us to continue defending our land, and human costs will increase for us dramatically,ā he said.
No updated timeline on NASAMS delivery
Kuleba also reiterated earlier statements heād made that he anticipates a ābattle for the skyā as the importance of air warfare will increase this year.
Early last year, Canada announced it would donate a $406-million surface-to-air missile defence system (NASAMS) to Ukraine. But as The Canadian Press reported last month, the equipment still hasnāt been delivered, and itās unclear when it will be.
One of the two companies involved in building the NASAPS said it does not have a contract for the donation, The Canadian Press also reported.
Kuleba said Ukraine āwelcomed the announcement from Canadaā last year, but has not been given an updated timeline for the NASAMS delivery, which he said he hopes to be as soon as possible, ābecause Russia continues to terrorize Ukraine from the air.ā
āI just call on everyone involved in it to act with without a single delay,ā he said.
When asked about the impact of those delays, Kuleba said it is āmore undefended to Ukrainian cities, (and) more Russian missiles and drones falling on (them).ā
āAs soon as an opportunity was provided, Canada transferred funds to the United States for the purchase of the NASAMs in March of 2023,ā wrote Defence Minister Bill Blair spokesperson Diana Ebadi in an emailed statement to Ā鶹“«Ć½. āAt every step of the way, Canada has done everything possible to expedite the delivery of this system.ā
āNASAMs are critically important to Ukraineās ongoing fight against Russian aggression and Minister Blair believes that this system needs to be delivered as quickly as possible,ā she added.
Ebadi said that Blair is in āregular contactā with U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen on the issue, and has āreceived assurancesā that U.S. officials are working on delivering on its end as soon as possible.
To date, Canada has sent 300 air-defence missiles to Ukraine, while itās also committed more than $9.5 billion in aid, and $2.4 billion in military aid ā including Leopard 2 battle tanks, small arms, M777 howitzers and drone cameras ā Ebadi wrote.
With files from CTVās Question Period Senior Producer Stephanie Ha
