Canada and France to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia in cyberspace
France and Canada have adopted a declaration in which they pledged to work together to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression in cyberspace.
The Canada-France Declaration on a Stronger Defence and Security Partnership was agreed upon during a meeting in Ottawa on 26 September between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The declaration states that the leaders are calling for joint efforts to promote a stronger defence and security partnership.
In particular, they stressed that the armed forces of both countries "will continue to deepen their strategic cooperation in the field of cyber defence in support of Ukraine".
"We are determined to work with Ukraine and our partners to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty, independence and its territorial integrity against Russian aggression, both in the traditional domains and in cyberspace, including by helping strengthen Ukraine's civilian cyber capacity through the Tallinn Mechanism," the document says.
Ottawa and Paris are also "committed" to play their part to uphold the principles of the UN Charter, to help "manage international crises and conflicts, including in the cyber domain; and to ensure the collective security and defence of NATO members".
"We will therefore expand our defence and security cooperation to support Ukraine, contribute to regional stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, reinforce our collaboration on crisis management and modernisation of our armed forces, and fight against foreign interference and information manipulation," the document says.
In December 2023, Estonia and nine other countries launched the Tallinn Mechanism to strengthen cyber support for Ukraine in the civilian sphere.
In early September 2024, Germany's BfV intelligence service issued a warning that a group of cybercriminals belonging to Russian military intelligence Unit 29155 was behind a series of online attacks against NATO and EU countries.
The Estonian Security Police found that a military unit under the command of the Main Directorate of Russia's General Staff had been conducting cyberattacks against Ukraine, as well as NATO and EU countries, including Estonia, since 2020.