Adedokun Waliyu 
Ukrainian military leader is asking Canada to hand over tens of thousands of rockets that are awaiting demolition at a Saskatchewan military base.
In an exclusive interview with Global News, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov urged the government to let Ukraine have the decommissioned CRV7 rockets.
Doing so would help Ukraine fend off Russian forces and save taxpayers the cost of destroying them, said Lt. Gen. Budanov, chief of the Ukrainian defence ministry’s intelligence directorate.
“We hope it will be a win-win situation,” he said.
While Canada no longer has any use for them, and has selected a private contractor to demolish them, Ukraine says it urgently needs them as its supplies of munitions diminish.
Lt. Gen. Budanov said the CRV7s would be used both in Ukrainian attack helicopters and ground launchers to target Russian tanks and artillery.
Ukraine has been discussing the issue with Canada but is still awaiting a decision, he said.
Canadian officials said they were looking into the request, but cautioned the CRV7s are decades old and could have become unstable, rendering them dangerous to handle and transport.
The Ukrainians argue they are in a dire predicament and are willing to assume the risks. They said they are accustomed to handling older munitions like the CRV7s.
“We have no concerns,” Lt. Gen. Budanov said.
Two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his disastrous invasion, Ukraine is desperately trying to replenish its military arsenal, particularly with munitions.
With neither side holding superiority in the air, the conflict has largely become an artillery battle and the Ukrainians have been scouring the world for whatever supplies they can find.
They believe that about 8,000 of the Canadian rockets are in pristine condition and that some are still fitted with warheads.
Those rockets that are no longer functional will be stripped of their parts for use in Ukraine’s drone program, the officials said.
“We need a lot of equipment, both ammunition, munitions in general, artillery munitions — lots of types of equipment,” Lt. Gen. Budanov said through an interpreter.
A Canadian military spokesperson acknowledged that 83,303 rockets — most of them tubes with rocket motors but no warheads — were awaiting disposal by a contractor.
Aside from concerns about whether they could be safely airlifted, giving them to Ukraine would mean breaking the contract with the disposal company, which has been building a special facility for the job.
Experts canvassed by Global News said rocket propellent had a limited lifespan and could become unstable after so many years.
But since the CRV7s use a solid fuel, they may still be safe, provided they had been stored properly and not exposed to moisture or contamination.
The issue arose in Ottawa on Friday, when the Conservatives said the Canadian military was sitting on the stockpile of rockets.
“Instead of making Canadians pay millions of dollars to decommission these weapons, common sense Conservatives are calling on the Trudeau government to give these weapons to Ukraine who can use them in the defence of their sovereignty,” the party said in a statement.
The Liberals accused Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre of “trying to cover up his weak stance on Ukraine by distracting Canadians.”
Defence Minister Bill Blair’s spokesperson said the government was “pursuing testing to ensure that this equipment is operationally effective and safe to transport to Ukraine before any potential donation.”
Ukrainian officials were disappointed to see the issue become politicized.
