Canada is considering contributing four Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, senior sources told CBC News — but no decision has been made.
The government could announce the donation of tanks as early as Thursday, the sources said.
CBC News is not identifying the confidential sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
One source said Canada is likely to send Ukraine the A4 variant of the tank — the oldest in the Canadian military’s inventory. Canada bought the A4s from the Netherlands during the Afghan war.
The Globe and Mail first reported the number of tanks that Canada may send to Ukraine’s war effort.
“Many of the tanks are in poor condition, but we can make sure they are operational, ready to go for the Ukrainians,” retired Canadian general Rick Hillier told Power & Politics Wednesday. “It would cost us some effort, certainly, but I’d like to see it happen.”
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will provide more support to Ukraine but declined to join allies in announcing a donation of German-made tanks to fend off Russian forces.
One military expert said Germany’s announcement that it’s sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine puts pressure on Trudeau to follow suit.
“We will continue to be there to give whatever support we can to Ukraine,” Trudeau said. “I won’t be making an announcement today but I can tell you we’re looking very, very closely at what more we can do to support Ukraine.”
Trudeau made the remarks in Hamilton, Ont., where he is attending a cabinet retreat in advance of the return of Parliament.
For weeks, Ukraine has been asking its allies to supply it with up to 300 German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks. Several allies have those tanks in their inventories but were unable to donate them unless Germany gave its approval for the vehicles to be transferred to a third party.
Earlier Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his country would provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks from his own military.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany advised several allies of its plan ahead of the announcement, including Canada.
“Germany will always be at the forefront when it comes to supporting Ukraine,” Scholz said later in an address to lawmakers in the German federal parliament.
Allies step up
Germany made the announcement on the same day U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters in Washington that the United States will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Germany, which was reluctant to incur Russia’s wrath alone by sending tanks, had said the Leopards would not be sent unless the U.S. put its Abrams on the table.
The U.K. announced last week that it would send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Norway’s defence minister announced his country also would donate Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, joining Poland, Finland, Spain and the Netherlands.
One of the old Soviet armoured vehicles Ukrainian soldiers are using in the field. (Stephanie Jenzer/CBC News )
Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College, said the donations announced by other countries ramped up the pressure on Canada to do the same.
“I think there will be pressure from the United States for Canada to pony up on the Leopard-2 tanks, because Leopard-2s will be the mainstay of the Ukrainian tank forces,” he said.
Dorn said that the Abrams tanks are very different from the Leopard-2 tanks and allies likely want Ukraine to have a more uniform fleet of vehicles to ensure they can be supported with parts and repairs on the battlefield.
Maintenance challenges
Dorn said the German announcement is significant because it allows Ukraine to counter Russian advances into Ukraine and launch attacks of its own.
“It’s potentially a game-changer because it adds much more punch to the Ukrainian forces,” Dorn told CBC News. “They are an entire generation better.
“The Western weapons are heavier, they’ve got better armour, they can pack more punch, they have the capacity to take territory more easily. Really, the [Russian] T-72s can’t stand a chance against these more modern weapons.”
Dorn said that while Ukraine has asked for 300 tanks, having just 100 of these vehicles would make a significant difference on the battlefield.
Germany said the tanks will not be battle-ready for several months.
Dorn said it will take time to train crews and build the maintenance facilities required to keep the tanks operational.
The Canadian Armed Forces has 112 Leopard 2s in its inventory. They include 82 designed for combat and 30 that are used for engineering purposes and recovering disabled vehicles. Many are not battle-ready because of maintenance issues.
According to a paper published last year by the Royal Military College, “the poor serviceability rate of the Leopard 2 main battle tanks is an endemic issue and a strategic-level concern since implementation.”
The paper blamed the maintenance problems on a lack of infrastructure, technicians and spare parts.
Forces won’t say how many tanks are battle-ready
Retired lieutenant-general and former Canadian Army commander Jean-Marc Lanthier said in an interview with the Canadian Press that any donation almost certainly will have to balance the needs of Ukraine against the potential impact on Canada’s military.
“Getting rid of any tanks — because we have so few, and so few that are actively working — would have an immediate impact on the level of readiness of the Army,” said Lanthier, who served as an armoured officer.
“Is that something that should stop us from sending tanks? I think we have a moral responsibility in terms of the immediacy of the requirements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian people. They are fighting a war. We are not.”
Canada bought its Leopards from Germany during the war in Afghanistan. They are notionally divided into squadrons of 19 tanks each, with two squadrons in Edmonton and a third at CFB Gagetown, N.B. Most of the rest are at the armour training school in Gagetown.
The U.S. and Germany both announced Wednesday they would be providing Ukraine with main battle tanks. Germany’s Ambassador to Canada Sabine Sparwasser joined Power & Politics to discuss how Germany arrived at this decision.
“And normally you keep a bunch of them at a depot ready to be deployed, but that’s not something we’re doing necessarily because we don’t have the numbers,” said Lanthier.
Department of National Defence spokesperson Andrew McKelvey would not comment Wednesday on what percentage of the military’s Leopard 2s are currently battle-ready, and how many are out of service for maintenance or other reasons.
“Tank maintenance is similar to aircraft maintenance, and the status of the fleet at any given moment depends on a comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul schedule, which is tied to specific requirements for training or operational employment,” he said.
“For operational security reasons, we cannot specify how many Leopard 2s are being maintained at any given time or give indication of their maintenance schedule.”
The question facing the government will be whether the benefit of sending tanks to Ukraine outweighs the impact on the military, Lanthier said. If it does, another question will be whether those tanks would be replaced — and if so, how quickly.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Joel Eriksson Ek scored two goals and added three assists as the Minnesota Wild grounded the Winnipeg Jets 8-5 in NHL pre-season action on Friday.
Kirikk Kaprizov had two power-play goals for the Wild, who scored seven goals in the second period to break open a tight game.
Ben Jones, Mats Zuccarello, Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov also scored for the Wild who got a 36-save performance from netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. Thirteen players had at least one point for the Wild in the lopsided win.
Cole Perfetti, Mason Appleton, Nikita Chibrikov, Brayden Yager and Morgan Barron scored for the Jets, who had two power-play goals.
The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period and the Wild took an 8-2 lead into the final frame.
Connor Hellebuyck allowed eight goals in two periods of play, stopping 21 of 29 shots. Thomas Milic stopped all six shots he faced in the final period.
UP NEXT
Jets: Host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
Wild: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
WINNIPEG – Zach Collaros threw a career-high six touchdown passes to ignite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a 55-27 victory over the Edmonton Elks that extended their win streak to seven games and clinched a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season.
Winnipeg’s first four series of the game resulted in TD catches by Nic Demski, Keric Wheatfall and Brady Oliveira, plus a field goal by Sergio Castillo.
The explosion of points had the team’s third straight sellout crowd of 32,243 at Princess Auto Stadium cheering wildly as the CFL West Division-leading Blue Bombers improved to 9-6.
The Elks dropped to 5-10 and have a flicker of a chance to still make the CFL playoffs.
Collaros completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for a season-high 432 yards with the six touchdowns and no interceptions. His career best for passing in a game is 439 yards.
Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who got the start ahead of Tre Ford, had a tough night against Winnipeg’s stifling defence. He was 19-of-34 passing for 223 yards with three TDs and no picks.
Winnipeg led 17-0 after the first quarter, 34-6 at halftime and 41-20 heading into the fourth.
Demski had a pair of TD receptions for 40 and 11 yards, while Kenny Lawler added two majors with catches of six and seven yards.
Lawler finished with a game high of 130 yards off eight catches and Demski had four receptions for 117 yards.
Wheatfall took a pass and turned it into a 61-yard major and Oliveira grabbed a short toss and deked and dashed 33 yards into the end zone.
Winnipeg defensive end TyJuan Garbutt scooped up a fumbled Edmonton pass attempt and ran 62 yards for a TD.
Castillo connected on field goals from 39 and 33 yards and made seven converts.
Edmonton kicker Boris Bede booted an 18-yard field goal at 10:10 of the second quarter to get the visitors on the board. He added a 24-yarder as time expired on the first half and made three converts.
Eugene Lewis, Tevin Jones and Dillon Mitchell each had TD catches for the Elks.
Edmonton’s fortunes turned early.
On Winnipeg’s first series of the game, Lawler fumbled a catch the Elks recovered but a review deemed Lawler had been down by contact.
Three plays later, Collaros fired the ball to Demski in the end zone at 3:04 and Castillo hit the convert to begin spinning the numbers on the scoreboard.
Edmonton’s first four possessions ended with three punts and a turnover on downs.
Collaros used the turnover for a TD pass to Wheatfall and 17-0 lead at 12:49 of the first quarter.
At that point in the game, Bethel-Thompson had completed one of three passes for nine yards. Collaros was 6-of-7 for 143 yards.
Oliveira made his run to the end zone at 1:09 of the second quarter, followed by Garbutt’s fumble-recovery TD at 6:45 to make it 31-0.
Three field goals ended the first half.
Lewis, Lawler and Jones provided three touchdowns for the third-quarter scoring that cut Winnipeg’s lead to 41-20.
Demski added his second TD of the game 23 seconds into the fourth, followed by Lawler’s stretching grab in the end zone at 7:06 to boost the lead 55-20.
Mitchell recorded his 37-yard TD catch as time expired.
UP NEXT
Elks: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Blue Bombers: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
TORONTO – Xavier Edwards made franchise history on Friday by becoming the first Miami Marlins player to record three triples in a single game. His achievement helped the Marlins crush the fading Toronto Blue Jays 15-5 at Rogers Centre.
Edwards emerged as Miami’s hero early in this contest, smacking his first triple in the second inning and finishing the contest 3-for-5 with four RBIs. In addition to setting a franchise record, the 25-year-old became the first Major League Baseball player with three triples in a single game since 2014.
“It’s definitely cool to get an opportunity to run at full speed and get to open it up,” Edwards said of his impressive evening.
The Marlins (60-100) broke through early, plating three runs in the first inning off Jays’ starter Jose Berríos. Miami built some heavy momentum and never slowed down, recording 17 hits.
Jonah Bride was also an integral part of the Marlins victory. The Marlins infielder hit two homers, his 10th and 11th of the season, and drove in three RBIs to secure Miami’s lead.
The Blue Jays (74-86) came up short in their 12-hit effort, which included Ernie Clement’s solo homer in the fourth inning, his 12th of the season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added two singles and an RBI, bringing him one hit shy of 200 on the season, while Alejandro Kirk extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
“We didn’t pitch well at all,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I think effort and compete — that was there. (We’ll) move on to tomorrow.”
Berríos (16-11) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits in just three innings of work, marking his shortest start of the season. The right-hander also struck out four batters and yielded three walks.
“Frustrating that that’s his last outing for the year,” said Schneider, summarizing Berríos’ season. “But I think, looking at his overall body of work, he should be really proud of the things that he did on and off the field.”
The Marlins quickly extended their lead in the second inning as Otto Lopez singled, Kyle Stowers walked, and Nick Fortes advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Edwards capped off the Marlins rally with a two-run triple off Berríos.
The Blue Jays responded against Marlins starter Adam Oller (2-4) in the bottom of the third, as Nathan Lukes doubled off the right-field wall, scoring Leo Jiménez from second. Spencer Horwitz singled up the middle, driving in George Springer and Lukes two batters later.
Oller earned the win for the Marlins, pitching five innings and allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out three.
The Marlins poured it on with five runs in the seventh inning. Griffin Conine homered, Edwards picked up his third triple of the night, and Jake Burger, after driving in a run earlier, doubled for his team-leading 76th RBI of the season.
The Rogers Centre roof opened an hour before first pitch, revealing cloudy skies. Announced attendance was 31,597, and the game lasted three hours, seven minutes.
SCHUMAKER LEAVES THE TEAM
Midway through Friday’s game, the Marlins announced manager Skip Schumaker would miss the remaining two games of the season due to a family medical issue. Bench coach Luis Urueta will manage in Schumaker’s place.
MARLINS MAKE A MOVE
Before the game, Miami placed reliever Declan Cronin (3-4) on the 15-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis and activated right-hander Mike Baumann (3-1) from the paternity list.
ROTATION SHUFFLE
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (10-14) will not pitch in Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins, Schneider announced Friday. With the Jays eliminated from playoff contention, the Jays skipper said he prefers to rest Bassitt and let other pitchers see some action.
UP COMING
The Blue Jays send right-hander Yariel Rodríguez (1-7) to the hill for the second leg of this three-game series on Saturday. The Marlins have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
