Aiding and Advising the Ukrainian Military

"We will advise on issues on the military side where we could be of support or assistance. We want to be able to help define the very real needs of that territorial defence force, and make sure we meet it in the most precise manner possible."

"One of the individuals I spent quite a bit of time with had watched a battalion of territorial defence forces pull into position in eastern Ukraine in their own civilian vehicles. We said, maybe we in the world can do better."

"We're not raising money for weapons, we're raising money for personal protection."

"The longer this goes on, the more risky and fragile the situation in the east will become for Ukraine, and the increased likelihood that Russia will extend the amount of territory that it controls."

"I'd love to see [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy say to Canada 'you're our number one supporter'."

"We're a G7 nation, we can do more."

"Why don't we in Canada step up and help? Take 250 of our LAV IIIs, 50 Leopard tanks, recce [reconnaissance] vehicles and engineer vehicles, a spare parts package, ammunition. Move it to western Ukraine and bring in a team to train up a brigade of their defence force to be that counterattack reserve."

"They've got them in a bear hug, Ukrainians don't have any reserves to put as a counterattack force, they can't let go because the Russians will break through."

"It can be changed by equipment and support from the West, but the amount of stuff that's been delivered is minuscule compared to the need."

Rick Hillier, former Canadian Chief of the Defence Force

Soldiers in east Ukraine have been under heavy bombardment for weeks   Getty Images

 

A new strategic council is being struck, meant to advise Ukraine's territorial defence forces, and a former Canadian top soldier is set to chair the council. The Ukrainian World Congress, a non-profit consortium of organizations affiliated with the Ukrainian worldwide diaspora announced that retired Canadian Air Force General Rick Hillier is to head the new group. Other former world military commanders will comprise the entirety of the council, meant to offer support and advocacy to Ukraine's 100,000[strong homeland defence militia.

 

The new council's mandate partly focuses on equipping members of Ukraine's Territorial Defence Force, a volunteer militia of part-time civilian reservists, with personal protective gear. On his trip to Ukraine to view first-hand the situation prevailing there, General Hillier witnessed challenges he identified on the front lines. The initiative to equip the 100,000-strong volunteer militia with basic personal military gear will focus first on raising the funds to equip the civilian militia with helmets, flak jackets, medical supplies, eye protection and combat boots.

The cost to equip one soldier alone runs to roughly $2,500, a cost that expands to $1.24 million for a 400-troop battalion, or $5 million to adequately outfit a four-battalion brigade. In acknowledging that many nations have stepped up to commit aid to Ukraine in the unequal conflict, General Hillier emphasizes that Canada alone could, and should be doing more. Should greater effort be placed into defeating the Russian invaders outright, he said, Canada's humanitarian commitments could be altogether prevented.

The council anticipates, aside from direct support, to focus on educating the West on how matters in Ukraine are in reality; far more dire than it might seem, according to General Hillier. Ukraine's resolve blindsided Russian commanders who had anticipated a quick and easy campaign, but they had learned from their early failure and "The reality right now is very different", he said. Poor logistics systems improved, while electronic warfare renders most Ukrainian drones impotent along with UAVs, while walls of destructive Russian artillery now outnumber defenders in the east 12 to one.

General Hillier was informed by a Ukrainian commander that American promises of four Multiple Launch Rocket Systems were "wonderful, we love it, but we need 400". Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov asked the U.S. Secretary of State to make available greater numbers of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, but the response was of concerns Ukraine might use them in strikes on Crimea. Russia is not to be enraged by strikes within its claimed territory through the auspices of Western-provided war machinery.