Russia calls Canada a ‘warmonger’ for new deal with Ukraine on drone production

OTTAWA — Moscow called Canada a “warmonger” for signing a drone production deal with Ukraine and vowed to publish the address of a Canadian company working with Kyiv.

Defence Minister David McGuinty said Canada will not be intimidated.

Two weeks ago, Ottawa announced a corporate partnership between Canadian and Ukrainian drone makers that could see drones made in Canada deployed to Ukraine’s front line.

The deal involves Ukrainian company Airlogix and Canadian drone maker Sentinel R&D, which is based in Hamilton, Ont.

At a press briefing Wednesday in Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in Russian that she will be sharing the address of the Ontario company involved.

She argued the deal allows Ukraine to hide vital military supplies in a third country and that Canada is not living up to its peacemaker rhetoric when it behaves like “a warmonger.”

Russia’s ambassador in Ottawa has said the drone deal means Canada is seeking to profit from the ongoing conflict — which Russia insists is not a war. He and Zakharova both said Moscow is taking Canada’s drone deal into account in Russia’s military and political planning.

McGuinty said military officials work to keep Canada safe and Ottawa will continue to support Ukraine.

“We would expect to see the Russians to be critical, because they don’t appreciate the fact that NATO is coming together to assist a country that’s in need,” he told reporters on Parliament Hill.

“We’re going to continue to monitor the situation, but we’re going to continue in steadfast support of our Ukrainian colleagues.”

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022 has caused a rapid evolution in drone technology, which now accounts for most of the casualties in the ongoing conflict.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press