Shortly after the United States, Canada also decided to withdraw his troops from Ukraine in the midst of worries about the possibility Russia attack the country.
The Canadian Ministry of Defense announced that Canadian soldiers who joined the Ukrainian Joint Forces (JTF-U) were temporarily withdrawn on Sunday (13/2).
“[Militer] temporarily relocated components of the Ukrainian Joint Forces (JTF-U) to other parts of Europe,” the Canadian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. AFP.
Canada’s Ministry of Defense said the withdrawal was done so the country could “refocus efforts on ensuring the safety of members of the Canadian Armed Forces.”
They did not specify the number of troops transferred. However, around 200 Canadian troops have been deployed to Ukraine since 2015 as part of the UNIFIER mission which aims to train Ukrainian troops.
“The Canadian Armed Forces remain committed to the Ukrainian people and to its mission to enhance the capacity and capability of the Ukrainian Security Forces,” Canada’s Ministry of Defense wrote.
The announcement was released shortly after the US also withdrew its 160 troops who were in Ukraine. The US soldier is also on a mission to train Ukrainian troops.
This troop withdrawal comes amid an increasing threat from Russia which is said to be ready to attack Ukraine. Tensions began when Russia had around 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border.
The US claims to have evidence that Russia is ready to attack Ukraine. Russia denies and says they are deploying troops to the Ukrainian border precisely because they are threatened by NATO moves.
According to President Vladimir Putin, the US wants to lead Russia into a war situation with rhetoric as if Moscow is ready to attack Kiev.
“Ukraine is only a tool to that end,” Putin said.
A spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby, confirmed that his country was not sending troops to fight in Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO.
However, Putin remains concerned that Ukraine will enter NATO in the future. If that happens, then the NATO threat to Russia will be even greater.
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