Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday condemned the “war crimes” he accused his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, of being the source of during a high-profile visit to kyiv, where he then promised to provide more military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, where bombings continue to cause casualties.
Meanwhile, the international community has promised to attack the Russian energy sector, which partly finances “the Russian war machine”, but its positions remain timid, in the opinion of the two experts consulted by The duty.
words and deeds
Justin Trudeau’s surprise visit to Ukraine was an opportunity for the Prime Minister to learn on the ground of the extent of the devastation caused by the Russian invasion in this country. The leader thus went to Irpin, in the suburbs of kyiv, where he witnessed “the brutality of the illegal war waged by Russia”, he said to journalists.
The Russian army quickly took control of this city, which had 60,000 inhabitants before the war, which it then occupied throughout March. In Irpin as in Boutcha, kyiv accuses the Russian forces of having committed massacres, after the discovery of dozens of corpses wearing civilian clothes in these localities occupied and then abandoned by the Russian army.
“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for these heinous war crimes,” said Mr. Trudeau, during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “He will have to be accountable,” he added, moments after following a G7 meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart.
The visit of Mr. Trudeau, who was accompanied by his ministers Mélanie Joly and Chrystia Freeland, who has Ukrainian origins, was also an opportunity to once again raise the Canadian flag at the country’s embassy in kyiv. Its diplomatic services will gradually resume in the coming days after being first relocated to Lviv in mid-February, then to Poland on the day of the Russian invasion, February 24. “This morning, I was very touched to be able to raise the Canadian flag in kyiv,” said Mr. Trudeau during his press briefing.
However, this measure “remains more symbolic than anything else,” said professor in the Department of Political Science at the Royal Military College of Canada Pierre Jolicoeur, in an interview with the To have to. The symbols are however “important on the international scene, and this is particularly important in the context of the war in Ukraine”, where the population needs to feel supported, analyzes for his part the professor in the Department of political science of the University of British Columbia Allen Sens.
Mr. Trudeau’s visit to Ukraine comes on the eve of the Victory Day parade, which takes place on May 9 in Russia. This will be followed closely by the international community on Monday, because Russian President Vladimir Putin could then reveal whether he intends to increase his military mobilization in Ukraine, explains Mr. Jolicoeur. Conversely, Mr. Putin could then accept that Russia should be content with betting in the long term on certain regions in the east and south of the country, believes the expert.
Military and humanitarian aid
Beyond words, the Prime Minister also made concrete commitments, which were detailed during the day, Sunday, on the federal government’s website. Mr. Trudeau thus promised an additional military aid of 50 million dollars to Ukraine. In concrete terms, this means sending to Ukraine 18 drone cameras, $15 million in high-resolution satellite images, up to $1 million in small arms “and related ammunition” and additional ammunition for howitzers, one can read.
Canada hopes in this way to contribute to helping Ukraine deal with the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin’s regime. “The atrocities he is committing in Ukraine only increase our resolve to ensure Putin loses this war,” Trudeau said.
A sum of 25 million dollars will also be earmarked for funding the World Food Program, while another 10 million dollars will go to various organizations that support Ukraine, particularly in its demining efforts.
60 dead in a bombed school
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Sunday, in a videoconference at the G7 summit, that at least 60 people had been killed on Saturday in a bombardment at a school in the Luhansk region. These were initially described as missing.
“Just yesterday, in the village of Bilogorivka, Luhansk region, a Russian bomb killed 60 civilians,” said the Ukrainian leader. “They were trying to find refuge in the building of an ordinary school, which was targeted by a Russian airstrike,” he added. This attack also made the international community react strongly on Sunday, including the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, who said he was “horrified” by it. War, he argued, should never be aimed at civilians or public infrastructure.
Russian strikes also sounded Sunday in the north of the country. These would have hit a Jewish cemetery in the city of Hloukhiv, in the Sumy region, according to local authorities.
On a note of hope, the UN confirmed on Sunday that more than 170 civilians from Mariupol, including those evacuated from the Azovstal metallurgical plant, arrived in the evening in Zaporizhia, a major city in southeastern Ukraine, which has become a reception center for people fleeing the Russian invasion. This brings to more than 600 people the number of people who have been evacuated in this sector, according to the UN.
With Agence France-Presse