Zelenskyy announces plans to sign Drone Deal with Canada

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine expects to sign the so-called Drone Deal with Canada on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York at the end of September.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Zelenskyy's comments to journalists after his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

Details: Zelenskyy said that the countries had taken the first step towards signing the Drone Deal on Thursday 10 September, with Kyiv hoping to conclude the agreement this month.

"We signed the first step, and our teams told us that in 90 days we can have a drone deal. Then Mark said, 'Can we have it in nine days?' And the teams immediately said, 'Yes, of course.' Good proposition. And that's why I think we need to have meetings often," Zelenskyy said.

The president said that during his visit to Canada on 10 September, the two countries had signed a document launching joint drone production. The Canadian prime minister, for his part, announced that Canada will increase drone production and provide one-third of the output to Ukraine.

"We signed the beginning of our co-production of drones and 30% of these drones will go to Ukraine, immediately to the battlefield, immediately to our people. Our soldiers will have to save our children, our families, first of all. And this is very important," Zelenskyy said.

"I hope that in New York we can have such a big deal between our countries," he added.

Background:

• During a meeting with Zelenskyy, Carney said Canada would allocate C$350 million (US$253 million) to purchase interceptor missiles for Ukraine's air defence systems and announced plans to supply drones.
• On 10 September, Zelenskyy and Carney signed a declaration on a 100-year partnership, which expresses the two countries' intention to elevate bilateral relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

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