KIEV, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine is counting on receiving sniper rifles from Canada this year, Ukraine' s Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko said on Wednesday.

"I expect that this year the first batch will be delivered to Ukraine," Shevchenko said in an interview with the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency.

Ukraine has already received permission from the Canadian government to purchase long-range sniper rifles in Canada, Shevchenko said.

In August 2017, Canadian weapons manufacturer PGW Defence Technologies said it planned to deliver LRT-3 rifles with an effective range of 1,800 meters to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

In December 2017, Canada added Ukraine to its Automatic Firearms Country Control List, allowing its exporters to sell weapons to the East European country.