Canada is targeting the Russian defense industry with its latest round of sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the new measures place restrictions on 33 Russian defense sector entities.
She says the organizations have provided support to the Russian military – directly or indirectly – and are therefore complicit in the pain and suffering resulting from Vladimir Putin’s unjustifiable war in Ukraine.
The measures include asset freezes and bans for listed entities including the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Integral SPB and Shipyard Vympel JSC.
Following the Russian attack that began on February 24, Canada imposed sanctions on more than 700 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,100 individuals and entities.
“Canada has always been and will always stand in solidarity with Ukraine,” Ms. Joly said in a statement. “Today’s actions are the latest example of our unwavering support for Ukraine and its people. »
“We will continue to support the brave men and women fighting for their freedom, and we demand that those responsible for atrocities be held to account. »
On Sunday, Russian forces bombarded Kharkiv sent reinforcements towards Izium to the southeast in a bid to break through Ukrainian defences, the Ukrainian military command said.
The Russians also maintained their siege of Mariupol, a key southern port that has been attacked and surrounded for more than a month.
Recently released satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed a 13-kilometer convoy of military vehicles heading south into Donbass, reminiscent of images of a convoy that got stuck on kyiv roads for weeks before Russia give up trying to take the capital.
In a late-night video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia’s aggression “was not meant to be confined to Ukraine alone.” “The whole European project is a target,” he said.
“That is why it is not only the moral duty of all democracies, of all forces in Europe, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace,” Zelensky said. “It is, in fact, a defense strategy for every civilized state. »
The Ukrainian leader also thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who made a surprise visit to kyiv on Saturday. Mr Zelensky said he discussed “how the UK will help rebuild Ukraine after the war”, in particular to rebuild the Kyiv region.
Ukrainian authorities accused Russian forces of committing war crimes against civilians, including airstrikes on hospitals, a missile attack that killed 52 people at a train station and other violence that came to light then that the Russian soldiers were withdrawing from the outskirts of kyiv.
— With information from The Associated Press