It Is Not True that Canada and the EU Planned the War in Ukraine
The post falsely claims that the reason Canada has trained Ukrainian soldiers since 2015 was war planning. The war in Ukraine was initiated by Russia, while the UNIFER operation is a training of the Canadian Military Forces and a capacity-building mission of the Ukrainian Armed Forces which will help defend its sovereignty. UNIFER was a response to the request of the Ukrainian Government in 2014, after the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, the Russian annexation of Crimea, and the rise of the separatist movements in the regions Donetsk and Luhansk.
We are fact-checking a post published on the social network Facebook sharing a video and saying:
What?! Ursula von der Leyen just told Trudeau that Canada has been training Ukrainian soldiers since 2015?!??????
This indicates that they planned this war after the CIA staged a coup in Ukraine in 2014. Their second mistake was over 100,000 dead Ukrainians.
Von der Leyen reports in the video:
Both countries are increasing their support for Ukraine, including our military support, because the Ukrainians have the necessary spirit and fortitude, but what they need are weapons. The EU already delivered 12 billion Euro worth of military equipment and will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers as they have been doing so since 2015. Our goal is to train 30 thousand troops by the end of the year.
The fact that Canada has been training Ukrainian soldiers since 2015 does not mean that Canada or the EU “planned the war” that Russia is fighting in Ukraine which started 24th February 2022.
The UNIFER is a Canadian military training operation and capacity-building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This operation began in 2015 upon the request of the Ukrainian Government. In 2022, it was extended until March 2025, according to the official website of the Government of Canada.
Since the beginning of UNIFER, Canada’s Armed Forces have trained more than 35 thousand Ukrainian soldiers and security personnel in tactics and advanced military skills.
Aspects of the mission were temporarily put on hold after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with a commitment to continue the training when the conditions allow.
Training of Ukrainian recruits has since resumed. Canada is participating in UK-led efforts to train recruits for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the training of Ukrainian combat engineers and crew members in Poland. Canada remains committed to continuing to provide Ukraine with the military equipment and training it needs to defend its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, announced the official website of the Government of Canada.
According to data released by the Canadian Government, approximately 370 members of the Canadian Armed Forces participate in Operation UNIFER. Since August 2022, approximately 170 members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to the United Kingdom to help train Ukrainian recruits. Since October 2022, Canada sent approximately 40 engineers to Poland to assist in the training of Ukrainian members. Other personnel is stationed in Europe in cooperation with the Allies and work on a variety of topics, including military aid, future donations, and coordination of training needs of Ukrainian forces.
In the UK, the Canadian Armed Forces is working with allies to train Ukrainian recruits in soldiering skills, such as weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics, and the Law of Armed Conflict. In Poland, the Canadian Armed Forces will provide training on a range of basic and advanced engineering skills, the use of explosives for demolition work, demining, and skills relating to the use of Leopard 2, according to the official website of the Government of Canada.
Due to all the facts noted above, we assess that the post claiming that Canada has been training Ukrainian soldiers since 2015 due to a planned war is not true. Russia started the war, and the training by the Canadian Armed Forces and aid in military equipment is intended to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty.
Operation UNIFIER was established in response to the request from the Ukrainian Government in 2014, after the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, the Russian annexation of Crimea, and the creation of separatist movements in the regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Until 2022, the mission took place in Ukraine through a multinational commission that included Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the USA.
This article was produced within the framework of the project “Promoting Access to Reliable News to Counter Disinformation”, implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation. The article, which has been published on the Macedonian-language version of Truthmeter, was produced with the support of the American non-profit foundation NED (National Endowment for Democracy). The contents of the article is the responsibility of the author and do not always reflect the positions of Metamorphosis Foundation, NED or their partners.
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