In northern Ukraine, Canadian-donated armoured vehicles are a key line of defence

If Russian forces launch a new attack on Ukraine from the north, it is likely that the first opposition they will face will be Ukrainian soldiers fighting them in armored vehicles donated by Canada.

Among the key components of Canada’s military aid package to Ukraine is the Senator armored personnel carrier built by Roshel Defense Solutions, Mississauga, Ont.

The Trudeau government initially donated eight “Senators” in May. Defense Minister Anita Anand traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday to announce a major expansion of the program, with another 200 vehicles.

“The vehicle offers advanced, best-in-class technology, and weapons can be mounted easily,” Anand told a Kyiv press conference.

WATCH: Canada donates 200 armored vehicles:

The $90 million cost is included as part of $500 million in Canadian military aid announced in the fall.

In the past few weeks, the Ukrainian military has forced the first of the “Senators” Canadian contributions to the service in key strategic areas, including on the northern border with Belarus.

Russia’s initial invasion last February against cities such as Chernihiv attacked south from Belarus, and now Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces are again conducting joint operations with the Belarusian army and air force.

When Western military officials say they do not believe another Russian attack will come from the direction, the Ukrainian military has improved defense and arming soldiers with more powerful Western-made weapons – including Senator.

“You feel safe in them,” said Ukrainian border guard Vladyslav Piun, as he sat in the driver’s seat and fired up the engine, speeding down a rough rural road just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

“It drives fast so you can escape the battlefield quickly – and also your people can open fire (through the door at the top).”

Other states also provide Senators

A CBC News crew was invited by Ukraine’s border patrol, which is a branch of the military, to visit one of the units that just received a new Senator two weeks ago.

In addition to Canada’s donation, Ukraine has bought dozens of its own Senators and other countries have also provided them, including Poland.

“I think it’s surprising,” said squad commander Andriy Solomianyi.

He said until the Senators arrived, his team was using older, thinner vehicles with metal frames that couldn’t stop bullets.

“It has armor,” he said. “It’s maneuverable, it gains speed quickly and it will take us quickly to where we need to be and carry out evacuations if necessary on the battlefield.”

WATCH | Take a look inside the armored vehicle donated by Canada:

One video clip posted recently on social media showed the Senator being used to transport Ukrainian prisoners exchanged with Russia.

apart unverifiable video appears to show the Senator after being damaged by a close hit from a Russian cannon. The vehicle sustained shrapnel damage to its body and its ballistic glass shattered but none penetrated the passenger cabin.

“I think Canada and other countries that help Ukraine should be proud of themselves,” Solomianyi said.

“A grain of sand can become an avalanche,” he said, suggesting the flow of Western weapons and missile systems, which began as a trickle, has increased dramatically in recent weeks and could be a decisive factor in Ukraine’s victory. .

$1B in military aid

Canada has contributed more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion nearly a year ago, including NASAMS Surface to Air Missile System, anti-tank weapons, M777 Howitzers and ammunition.

As he sat next to Anand at Wednesday’s press conference, Ukraine’s Defense Minister thanked Canada for all its contributions, including the new armored personnel carrier (APC).

“I want to express my greatest gratitude to Canadians, to the Canadian government and directly to Ms. Anand, because this aid package, which has been announced, is very important for us,” said Oleksii Reznikov.

But while APC fills an important gap in Ukraine’s needs, it may not be the most important.

Reznikov reiterated that Ukraine wants NATO countries to provide the country with heavy tanks to drive Russian forces out of the territory it currently controls.

Canada has more than 80 Leopard 2 tanks – but Anand was non-committal about those plans. Germany, the maker of the Leopard, has to sign on to any transfer and has so far refused to do so.

This issue is expected to be a central part of the discussion at an important meeting involving Ukraine, NATO countries and other donor countries in Germany.

However, in an interview with CBC News earlier this week, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed the value of Canada’s armored car donation to both countries.

“When you pay the companies that produce these, you’re investing back into the Canadian economy – and our army needs more armored vehicles, especially now that we’re building reserves to ensure mobility and protection for our troops,” said Kuleba.

Roshel’s website says the company began producing the Senator in 2018 and has sold it to police, military and security forces around the world.

The company also hired dozens of Ukrainian immigrants and refugees to help build vehicles and deal with extra orders for Ukraine, CEO Roman Shimonov said.

“We are building vehicles in industry record time, producing four vehicles per day, which are helping to save military and civilian personnel,” he wrote to CBC News in an email.

The APC Senator that CBC News passed by appears to be a basic model – there is room for 10 passengers but no additional turrets, weapons or special special features, such as the capacity to transport people on a stretcher.

But Solomianyi said all those additions would be possible if his team decided they were needed. Overall, he said his soldiers now feel safer doing patrols than before.

“It’s designed in a way, so if you open a mine and it explodes, the people inside are protected. We have less chance of getting hurt.”