Ottawa pledges $32M to boost Ukraine security on anniversary of Russian war – National | Globalnews.ca

Ottawa announced more than $32 million in security support for Ukraine on Friday as the war-torn nation marked one year of full-scale conflict with neighbouring Russia.

The federal government’s announcement comes as G7 nations ready a fresh round of sanctions on Russia, which started the war when President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into the neighbouring nation on Feb. 24, 2022.

Roughly $9.7 million of Friday’s announcement stems from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s $151.7-million Ukraine support package announced in June 2022, the government said in a news release.

Friday’s announcement includes $7.5 million for demining efforts, $13 million for “accountability efforts” that include addressing conflict-related sexual violence, and $12 million to counter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

“For an entire year, Canada and the international community have rallied like never before to support Ukraine’s resilience in the face of President Putin’s aggressions,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly in a statement.

“Canada’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is unwavering. We will not stand down until Russia is held accountable for its crimes.”

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Ukrainians reflect, look ahead after one year of war

Furthermore, the government announced Friday it has joined the “Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine (ACA)” alongside the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. The group will support Ukraine’s war crimes division and prosecutor general to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed in Ukraine, the government said.

Since Russia’s invasion, the federal government said it has committed over $5 billion in multifaceted support to Ukraine, including over $2.6 billion in assistance, more than $1.2 billion in military aid, $320 million in humanitarian aid, $96 million in development assistance and more than $68 million in security and stabilization programming.

Leaders of the G7 nations, which include Canada, were scheduled to meet virtually Friday to finalize what’s expected to be a new round of sanctions against Russia on the anniversary of its invasion.

Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom and the United States separately imposed new sanctions, including export bans and tariffs on all materials used in the war, as well as “third country actors” supporting Russia’s war effort across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Hours after Putin launched his invasion last year, the G7 came together to impose severe sanctions against Moscow, the first in what would be multiple packages aimed at restricting Russia’s ability to fund its war efforts in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Trudeau told reporters Canada and its allies would stand by Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

“People of Ukraine are not just fighting for protection of their own territory, their language or the identity of their sovereignty, they are fighting to uphold the rules that underpin all of our democracies: territorial integrity, respect for sovereignty, respect for international law and the UN Charter,” Trudeau told reporters in Halifax.

“Russia chose to destabilize that and put all that into question, and it’s not just a question of Russia’s behaviour towards Ukraine or any countries around Russia, it’s a question of other countries around the world wondering that, ‘Oh, perhaps might makes right, now. Perhaps because we have a larger army than our neighbour, we can invade, we can attack.’

“The consequences of Canadians not standing with Ukraine, the world not standing with Ukraine right now, could be devastating … for the entire planet. That’s why Canada and our allies will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as long as it takes.”

— with files from Reuters

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