Commander of the Canadian Army visits Ukraine and Poland

The Commander of the Canadian Army, LGen. Marquis Hainse, visited Ukraine and Poland last week to meet with Canadian soldiers deployed on Operations REASSURANCE and UNIFIER. He also met with senior officials during the course of his visit.

“Canada’s commitment to Operations REASSURANCE and UNIFIER provides opportunities for the Canadian Army to contribute to stability in Central and Eastern Europe. I was pleased to see our soldiers working with ease alongside our regional allies and partners,” stated Hainse in a press release.

Currently, members from the 2nd Canadian Division, based out of Quebec, are deployed to Eastern and Central Europe for two distinct missions: Operation Reassurance to support broader NATO assurance measures and Operation UNIFIER focusing on capacity building of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The Canadian Army has been deployed on Operation Reassurance since 2014 and participates in various training events to enhance interoperability with allies.

The Canadian Army has been a part of Operation UNIFIER since 2015 and assists with military capacity building and professional development of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Approximately 170 Land Task Force members also recently completed Exercise ANAKONDA. Held from June 6 to June 17, the exercise was a large-scale multinational exercise, held in Poland, that involved more than 30,000 soldiers from 23 nations contributing 3,000 armoured vehicles, 60 aircrafts, and a dozen ships.