The Canadian federal government announced a package of military and financial aid to Ukraine.

This came following a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal on Tuesday.

Trudeau confirmed that his country granted Kyiv a loan of 2.4 billion dollars, which was announced in last month's federal budget, explaining that the funds will be used by the Ukrainian government to support essential services such as paying pensions, purchasing fuel, and repairing damaged energy infrastructure.

Shmyhal and Trudeau also signed a joint declaration on updating the free trade agreement between the two countries.

They also referred to a previously announced agreement between Saskatoon-based Cameco and Ukraine's state-owned Energoatom, under which the Canadian company supplies uranium to meet the needs of nuclear power plants in Ukraine until 2035.

In a joint press conference with Trudeau earlier today, the Ukrainian Prime Minister expressed his country's hope that Canada will expand its supplies of heavy weapons, especially tanks and armored vehicles.

Shmyhal said, according to the Ukrainian news agency (Ukrinform), that the next important issue is military aid to Ukraine, and I confirm that this is to defend ourselves and to liberate our currently occupied territories.

He continued: "We are grateful to the Canadian government for joining the Leopard alliance and hope to see an expansion in the supply of heavy weapons, especially tanks, armored vehicles, and ammunition."

The Ukrainian Prime Minister confirmed that he discussed with his Canadian counterpart the participation of Canadian companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the military operations.

He added: "This will be the largest project in Europe since World War II, according to World Bank estimates. Today, we are talking about destruction and losses amounting to 411 billion dollars caused by Russia in Ukraine... We are awaiting the Canadian government's decision regarding the use of financial instruments to stimulate the operations of Canadian companies in Ukraine."

The Ukrainian Prime Minister expressed his thanks to all Canadians for their sincere and steady assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainians, noting that Canadian financial aid allows the government to keep the economy standing, save jobs, and provide assistance to those who lost their homes.