“This is basically an expectation that there will be no peaceful resolution of this war in Ukraine,” said Ivan Katchanovski, professor of political studies at University of Ottawa. He researches conflicts and political studies focusing on Ukraine.
While the military effect of Canada’s commitment in Latvia would not be immediately significant, Katchanovski said, it has potential to grow much bigger if the war in Ukraine continues, especially considering Latvia’s proximity to Russia and its ally Belarus.
Yves Engler, anti-war activist, says the announcement is “further escalation,” and “the opposite of what’s needed, which is both sides to back off.”
Engler said while Canada’s arms contributions are important to continuing the war effort, the more important role of Canada was training the Ukrainian military, in what the government calls Operation Unifier. The program, which began in 2015, has used Canadian Forces to train Ukrainian military personnel. Engler said this can be seen as in opposition to the Minsk II agreement pushed by France and Germany in the UN at the time of its implementation.
“So the expansion of troops into Latvia and expanding Canadian training of Ukrainian forces in Latvia is a really important part of Canada’s contribution,” Engler said.
This increase in Canadian military personnel to Latvia is the latest in heightened NATO activity surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war. In June, 250 aircraft conducted war games over German skies, with over 10,000 soldiers in what amounted to the biggest exercise in NATO history.