Canadian troops heading to Ukraine as military reboots missions paused due to COVID-19

The Canadian Armed Forces is deploying 90 military trainers back to Ukraine as it looks to restart some of the overseas missions temporarily suspended or scaled back because of COVID-19.

Canada has had soldiers training local forces in Ukraine since 2015, but the mission was temporarily suspended in early April as COVID-19 forced countries around the world into lockdown.

The departing troops are expected to arrive in the coming days and spend 14 days in isolation before training efforts begin in earnest next month.

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They will join roughly 60 Canadian soldiers who have been holding the fort in Ukraine since the mission was suspended.

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Military spokeswoman Capt. Leah Campbell says another 50 troops assigned to the Ukraine mission will remain in Canada for now.

While the military is planning to resume its training mission in Ukraine, a similar effort in Iraq remains suspended with no indication when it will also ramp back up.