The West has tirelessly lamented that the Ukrainian army “found itself outmatched and out-foxed by separatists at the beginning of the campaign last year”, according to the website of Canada's CTV Television Network.
The Americans and British have already hit the ground with the purpose of making the Ukrainian units "acutely ready" for fighting a war.
“A planning team sent to iron out the plans arrived only recently, and it could very well be August by the time the contingent is in place,” the website quotes a senior defense source as saying “on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss details publicly”.
"Reconnaissance work is ongoing and the training of Ukrainian military personnel will begin later this summer", it also quoted Lauren Armstrong, a spokeswoman for Defense Minister Jason Kenney as saying.
The plan to send 200 troops by March 31, 2017 “to help the country in its efforts to maintain sovereignty, security and stability in the face of Russian aggression” was announced in April by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The website however notes that the actual deployment of the mission comes “just as the Harper government prepares to do electoral battle on the campaign trail at home in advance of an Oct. 19 vote”.
There are, however, fears from within the US that the Canadian training mission in Ukraine may unintentionally help neo-Nazis groups.
The move now raises questions about what safeguards Canada has to ensure it doesn’t help extremist groups.
US lawmakers have also voiced concern about American military equipment falling into the wrong hands.
Some US supplies provided to Ukraine’s government have ended up on the black market, according to the US media.
