Canada pledges 500 million euros toward Ukraine support loan amid 2027 budget shortfall – The Kyiv Independent

Canada will contribute an initial 500 million euros ($559 million) to the European Union's Ukraine Support Loan, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Oct. 30, joining Kyiv's other partners in an effort to bridge the country's budget gap.Kyiv expects a shortfall of at least 70 billion euros ($78 billion) next year, even after accounting for 45 billion euros ($50 billion) that the EU is already set to disburse."As for the loan to Ukraine, 500 million euros will be our initial contribution," Carney said during the EU-Canada Summit in Montreal, according to Interfax-Ukraine.Canada's participation in the 90 billion-euro loan mechanism would also allow Ukraine to purchase military equipment from Canadian defense companies using EU funds, according to a Canadian government backgrounder.Canada had previously been in talks to join the mechanism, and is likely to announce further, additional direct financial support for Kyiv.The Canadian contribution follows similar announcements made by other allies.Norway pledged $9 billion for 2027 on Oct. 7, and on Oct. 28, the U.K. announced a $13 billion pledge to Ukraine, its largest ever.Ukraine's budget gap is also being actively discussed by the European Commission and the 27 EU countries, with hopes high that the bloc will announce additional financial support on top of the 45 billion euros by the end of the year. Brussels CorrespondentNews Editor, North AmericaA meeting between the leaders is essential, said Zelensky, adding that Turkey can be a practical and realistic mediator of future talks between Moscow and Kyiv.Chinese President Xi Jinping was surprised by the proposal and noted that European officials should be involved in resolving the war, as it is taking place on the European continent, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.Ukraine's air raid alert system was hacked late on Nov. 1, the Air Force said as sirens sounded across the country, falsely notifying people of nuclear, chemical, and street fighting threats.Iliana Yotova, who opposes military aid for Ukraine and calls for a dialogue with Moscow, won 57.58% of the Nov. 1 vote, with 99.95% of the polling station protocols processed.The number includes 2,500 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.Ukrainian monitoring channels reported that Ukrainian drones had struck the Samara Linear Production and Dispatch Station in the city of Prosvet, around 835 kilometers (520 miles) northeast of Ukraine's border.Less than an hour after the initial announcement, the Latvian military declared that the incursion had ended and the threat had left."Today it is something special because it is about Ukrainian children," Denys Sienik, acting ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S., said. "Those children who are no longer with us, those children who have been kidnapped by Russia. And it is so important to draw attention, to raise public attention to the matter, and to send a message to all Ukrainian children that no one is forgotten."167 Kherson Oblast residents trapped on the right bank of the Dnipro River were evacuated to safer areas in the region. 22 children and 21 people with limited mobility were among the evacuated, the General Staff said. A Russian drone strike on the grounds of a vocational school dormitory in Vinnytsia Oblast killed two people, including a 13-year-old girl, on Nov. 1, the State Emergency Service reported.This story exists because readers chose to back it. Behind it is a newsroom that will not look away — and a community of people who make that possible. It's thanks to 35,000 members that our reporting stays free for everyone to read, and we can continue our reporting. Will you be one of them?source