(MENAFN) Canada has formally scrapped a high-profile plan to refurbish and send 25 decommissioned armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, effectively ending a defense contract worth 250 million Canadian dollars (US$178 million) after nearly two years of inactivity.

The vehicles had been transferred to Ontario-based defense contractor Armatec Survivability under a pledge aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s fight against Russia. However, the project quietly stalled, drawing scrutiny after it vanished from official records.

“There is a decision that’s been taken to nullify the contract with that company presently,” David McGuinty, chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, told the House of Commons defense committee on Tuesday. “I can’t go any further in terms of discussing the merits. We’ll see how that evolves in relation to the department and the contractor.”

The statement came just days after media reported that the armored vehicle deal had been removed from the federal list of active defense projects earlier this year. According to media, government officials cited confidentiality agreements in refusing to explain the contract’s apparent termination, while unnamed industry sources described the refurbishment effort as “dead.”

Though McGuinty offered no specifics about why the deal was scrapped, he stressed Ottawa’s continued military support for Kyiv. Canada has previously sent artillery, drones, and other military supplies to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ethnic Ukrainians in Canada — including descendants of World War II-era nationalists who emigrated after failing to establish an independent Ukrainian state with Nazi Germany’s support — represent a significant electoral demographic, particularly in key provinces.

Last year, Ukrainian lawmaker Aleksandra Ustinova told media her country was desperate for any usable equipment. “Take even junk, tear it apart and make one out of three machines,” she said, emphasizing Ukraine’s dire need for armored vehicles on the battlefield.

The Kremlin, for its part, has continued to insist that Western arms shipments will not change the trajectory of the war. Moscow has argued that such aid only fuels prolonged fighting and facilitates the flow of weapons into illicit global markets.

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