(Ottawa) Extension of Operation Unifier, deployment of dozens of additional soldiers to Ukraine, shipment of non-lethal military equipment, humanitarian aid: the Canadian government is pulling out all the stops to help Ukraine. All this, hoping that Moscow does not sound the charge.
Posted at 4:42 p.m.
Updated at 6:01 p.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau provided an update on the situation in Ukraine following his cabinet’s retirement. Flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defense Minister Anita Anand and Foreign Minister, in parliament, he announced a package of measures in support of Kiev.
“Today I authorized the extension of Operation Unifier for three years and the expansion of this training mission, as well as immediate support. This is a commitment of $340 million,” he began.
As part of this, I authorized the Canadian Armed Forces to deploy 60 people in a matter of days to join the approximately 200 women and men already on the ground, with an additional capacity to increase the number of people on the ground up to 400 .
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
These soldiers will be there for training, not combat.
And if an armed conflict were to break out, there are “contingency plans” in place for them, Justin Trudeau said. For clarification, the headquarters of Operation Unifier is located in Kiev, hundreds of kilometers from the border, where Moscow has stationed around 100,000 soldiers.
Canada will also ship non-lethal equipment, such as bulletproof vests and optical equipment. It will also share intelligence with Kyiv and increase support in the fight against cyberattacks.
“The dictators are watching us”
In turn at the microphone, Deputy Prime Minister Freeland reiterated her pride in her Ukrainian origins, before going on to plead for an international system based on the rule of law. This is threatened by Russian authoritarianism, and “the dictators are watching us [l’Occident] “, she warned.
PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE, REUTERS
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Chrystia Freeland
Ukraine is “at the forefront” of this shock, and it should not bear the brunt of it simply because it is “smaller” and has a less powerful army, continued Mr.me Freeland in a serious tone. She assured that it was clearly in the national interest of Canada to take the actions announced on Wednesday.
The “diplomatic solution is the only option,” insisted Minister Joly. But if Russia decides to violate the territorial integrity, it exposes itself to “severe consequences”, and “Canada is ready” to crack down with coordinated sanctions, assured the chief diplomat, without specifying the nature of the said sanctions. potential.
The Canadian government is also releasing $50 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
This support is in addition to the loan of up to $120 million that was announced last week, said the Prime Minister, who spoke earlier with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss Ukraine.
No arms delivery
Unlike some allies, including the United States and the United Kingdom, Canada has not promised to ship lethal weapons to Ukraine. The liberals are therefore resisting the intense pressure exerted by the Ukrainian lobby, and are not acceding to this explicit request from Kiev.
However, it is not said that the option has been completely ruled out by the Trudeau cabinet, which studied it during its virtual retirement in the last few days. Hounded on this issue, the Prime Minister remained evasive, arguing that Ottawa’s support was “continuous” and likely to “expand”.
And ultimately, it is up to President Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine again, after having illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, insisted Justin Trudeau at a press conference the day after the announcement of the repatriation of families of diplomats in post in Ukraine.
The absence of a promise to send arms drew the ire of the Conservative Party.
“Prime Minister Trudeau’s inaction calls into question the Liberal government’s support for Ukraine in its fight against attacks from Russia. The time for half-measures is long gone,” MPs lambasted in a statement.
“Ukraine needs Canada’s support and today Mr. Trudeau let it down,” they added.