(OTTAWA) The Ukrainian government will obtain a loan of 120 million to support its economy threatened by interference from Russia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday. However, he did not want to rule out sending troops from the Canadian Armed Forces if the situation escalated.
Posted at 11:26
“I don’t want to comment on hypothetical questions,” he answered a reporter’s question. I will continue to say what I have said before, that we want to support the Ukrainians in the face of the challenge posed by an aggressive Russia which is gathering troops on the border, which is interfering in Ukrainian political life, which is using cyberattacks and propaganda to destabilize Ukraine. »
“Canada remains an ally of Ukraine and we will continue to support it,” he added.
Some 200 Canadian soldiers are already deployed there as part of Operation UNIFIER, which aims to train Ukrainian soldiers. This mission is due to end in March 2022 and has not yet been renewed.
The $120 million loan was provided through an international development program to counter Russia’s “aggressive destabilization” in Ukraine. “This money is going to be important to help the government build resilience in Ukraine,” Trudeau said. This was one of the requests made to Canada by Kiev.
This announcement comes a few days after Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly’s trip to Ukraine where she met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna.
The Ukrainian government, which fears an armed conflict, has also requested military equipment and weapons. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that he was studying this option, but he feared in the same breath that it would aggravate the situation.
For the time being, Canada favors the diplomatic route and the imposition of sanctions in the event of military actions by Russia.