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What did Canada's June 2023 aid package cover?
Summary
A look back at the Canadian military and humanitarian aid announced on 10 June 2023, days after the Kakhovka Dam breach.
What did Ottawa put on the table in the days after the Kakhovka Dam was breached? Looking back at 16 June 2023, the answer lies in an announcement made on 10 June 2023: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a $500 million military aid package for Ukraine, including 288 AIM-7 missiles.
The package came with a second element. A $10 million humanitarian aid package was announced to help victims of the Kakhovka dam collapse.
The flooding behind the aid
The dam was breached in the early hours of 6 June 2023, causing extensive flooding along the lower Dnipro in Kherson Oblast. It was under the control of the Russian military, which had seized it in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Ukraine blamed Russia's 205th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and Russian authorities have denied the accusations.
Two tracks, one announcement
The Canadian announcement joined two kinds of support: weapons for Ukraine's armed forces and money for people hit by the flooding. It came at a time when a Ukrainian counter-offensive was being planned, which many experts later concluded the dam's destruction was meant to hinder.
