National Defence Committee on Dec. 9th, 2025

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON]

With respect to Russia's shadow fleet, what other systems do they have that may pose an immediate risk? Do they have any advanced weapons systems, lasers or kinetic warfare capabilities that we're unaware of?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

I'm not a military expert, and I'm not the person who has the best knowledge on what these vessels are equipped with. What I know is that when it comes to the shadow fleet, there are a lot of things they obtained from different markets. They are old civilian vessels. Certainly, they may be equipped with different equipment.

Once again, though, this is a serious situation that should be considered seriously and should be monitored seriously by border guard services and by the intelligence community. Exchanging information about it will contribute to our better preparedness.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON]

There are reports that the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the war have been sent to its ally North Korea. What do you know about this?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

This is knowledge that was shared, I think, during the hearings in the U.S. Senate. We have information that a lot of children were sent to Belarus to be educated there under Russian propaganda. If this information is shared by our well-known civil society organizations, it means only one thing: that such cases were witnessed and spotted by our civil society organizations, with the support of OSINT technologies and support from our international partners.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON]

What about North Korea?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

Russians will use each and every opportunity to hide Ukrainian children and not bring them back to Ukraine, but if we have this knowledge, we'll certainly share it with our partners to raise awareness with only one goal, which is to have more unity, and more strength in this unity, to press Russia into bringing our kids back home.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you.

Ms. Lapointe, you have up to five minutes.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Ambassador, for appearing before the committee today.

We often discuss military aid in broad numbers, but we know that behind those figures, there are decisions on mobility, survivability and power resilience.

Where have Canada's contributions filled gaps that might have otherwise resulted in lost territory, reduced defence capability or slower counteroffensives?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

I'm sorry. I didn't quite get your question.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

How has Canada's aid helped Ukraine in preventing lost territory, reduced defence capability or slower counteroffensives?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

If we receive defence equipment from Canada—for example, APCs or other defence materiel—it means only one thing: saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield. It means they can stand firm in defending their positions.

I want to once again stress the point that literally everything we got from Canada really contributed to saving more lives on the battlefield and in our cities and towns.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

You stated in one of your responses that what happens on the battlefield has profound impacts on Europe and the rest of the world. Canada recently announced that it was joining SAFE, and I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on what effect you think that may have on European security.

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

In my opinion, it was a very important decision for Canada, for European partners and for us, because we are talking about how to have more co-operation in the defence sphere and how, in the long run, to make all our countries more resilient. By strengthening the transatlantic links, which are so important for Canada, Ukraine and Europe, we are contributing to making our countries more resilient. Joining this initiative is a very important step. It will be beneficial for European partners, including Ukraine, and certainly for Canada.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

With some proposals referencing territorial concessions or limits on Ukraine's forces, what impacts do clear and very consistent messages from allies have in shaping international expectations around what is and is not acceptable in any peace framework?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

We need a strong, united position. That's why my President is so actively coordinating all of these initiatives with European partners, Canada and other partners of the world. We've been very firm that all issues about Ukraine should be discussed with Ukraine. All issues about Europe and European security should be discussed with the participation of European states. This is very important.

Another issue that was in our media and in international media was elections. That was very clear, and the President made it very clear that he is ready to go to an election, but the most important thing is to have appropriate conditions according to our legislation and to have this election process. First and foremost, we need a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire. The procedures will then start working and everything can be organized.

There are a lot of issues, but we need a very strong, united position, and we are working on that.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

As discussions continue around a ceasefire and security arrangements, to what extent does sustained allied military support strengthen Ukraine's position to secure terms that prevent future aggression and ensure long-term self-defence?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

The non-repetition of aggression in the future is absolutely vital for us. That's why we're talking about robust security and these robust security arrangements.

A lot of things are now being discussed, starting with having an international presence in order to support Ukraine and with supporting Ukraine with sophisticated weaponry, and then going into defence production. There are a lot of issues that would contribute to this strong security. The main idea is to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, but it cannot be achieved if there is no robust security on the ground.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you, Ambassador.

I believe Mr. Bezan has crashed, so we're going to you, Mr. Kibble, if you want to proceed.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess he's having some challenges with his Zoom connection and might jump back in.

Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Ambassador, to ask you some more questions.

There are some relatively new reports of autonomous, land-based drones on the battlefield. Are those Russian, Ukrainian or both? Could you perhaps speak a little to their success or their role?

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

Do you mean autonomous drone systems?

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

I mean on the land—land-based drones.

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

These are the land robot systems.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Yes.

[Andrii Plakhotniuk]

This is an area that is developing very fast, because this war is about numbers: the defence materiel, defence equipment and armaments that have been used. It's also about a technological race. This war is developing very fast when it comes to drone technologies, be it naval drones or land robot systems. They are inventing measures; we are inventing countermeasures. This is a very fast process taking place.

We have the land robot systems, which are supporting the forces on the ground, starting with what to do with wounded soldiers and how to deliver them from the battlefield to an evacuation point. They do many other things, like mining areas, but it's about the support of military units on the ground.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

In Canada, we're seeing lots of sentiment against supporting the war in Ukraine, specifically online and in social media. Are you aware of this in Canada? Do you know who the source of this might be?