Canada is extending its mission to train Ukrainian soldiers by three years

OTTAWA — Canada is extending and expanding its mission to train Ukrainian soldiers but it is not, so far, prepared to help arm them with lethal defensive weapons as Ukraine has requested.

OTTAWA — As the Trudeau government wraps its cabinet retreat Wednesday, its handling of the Ukraine-Russia crisis faces growing criticism for being soft and superficial while rendering Canada missing in action with its allies.

OTTAWA — The debate around sending weapons to Ukraine was being panned as a “red herring” on Thursday, as several experts suggested Canada can better support the eastern European country in its standoff with Russia in other ways.

Canada will deploy up to 400 personnel in total to assist the Ukrainian military and 60 of them will be deploying in the next several days, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said during a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday he had gone into isolation for five days after being exposed to someone with COVID-19, adding a rapid test result had come back negative.