<p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday discussed long-term defense cooperation, the two leaders said.</b></p><div style="text-align: justify;">"For as long as it takes. That's how long we're going to provide Ukraine with support," Trudeau tweeted, following a phone call with Zelensky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"You have my word," he told the Ukraine leader. "Canada will continue to be there with military, humanitarian, and financial aid."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zelensky, also in a tweet, said they had discussed "the program of long-term defense cooperation".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last month Canada sent eight Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to help the war-torn country fend off Russia's invasion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ottawa had announced in February it would double the number of tanks pledged to Kyiv the month before. The German-made 55,000-kilogram beasts are the backbone of and among the most advanced in the Canadian military's arsenal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Canada has also extended its mission to train Ukrainian combat engineers to October and is also deploying medical trainers, Trudeau said in March.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ottawa has committed more than Can$1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine over the past year, including armoured vehicles, surface-to-air missiles, howitzers and munitions as well as the Leopard 2 tanks. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>