(OTTAWA) Following Russian airstrikes against cities in Ukraine, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), of which Canada is a member, recalled on Tuesday that “indiscriminate attacks against an innocent civilian population constitute a crime of war “.
Updated yesterday at 5:36 p.m.
“We will continue to provide Ukraine with financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal assistance and stand firmly in solidarity with Ukraine for as long as necessary,” reads a joint G7 statement released on Tuesday. following a virtual meeting of leaders of member countries. We are committed to helping Ukraine meet its winterization needs. »
The G7 says a just end to this war must recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty and hold Russia accountable for this conflict – including that Moscow fund Ukraine’s reconstruction.
An explosion on Saturday damaged the important bridge that connects Russia and the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The blast cut off an important military supply route for Russia, which annexed the region in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin then ordered missile strikes on several Ukrainian towns.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strongly denounced these recent Russian airstrikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.
“It’s horrible to imagine people living their lives in Kyiv, sending their children to the parks, going to work on a Monday morning, only to receive airstrikes, missiles, targeted against civilians , targeted against innocent people, he made a point of specifying just before making an economic announcement in Sorel.
“We see what is happening: the courage of the Ukrainians, the ferocity with which they are defending their territory. They are giving a very bad time to Vladimir Putin, who made a monumental mistake by underestimating the Ukrainians. By underestimating the firmness of Western countries,” maintained the Prime Minister.
Mr. Trudeau telephoned Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to offer his condolences following the airstrikes, and to promise him more support from Canada. But he did not commit to participating in some kind of air shield to intercept Russian missiles, as the Ukrainian president would like.
Canada also summoned the Russian ambassador to Ottawa.
Canadian military engineers
Ottawa also announced Tuesday that Canada will send 40 military engineers to Poland in the coming weeks to train Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russia.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand made the announcement on Tuesday during a visit to Poland, ahead of a scheduled meeting with her NATO counterparts in Belgium. These Canadian instructors will provide training in military engineering and the use of explosives for demolition and mine clearance, a statement said.
This new contribution comes on top of the 225 military instructors already working with Ukrainian forces as part of a British-led training mission. Canada has also deployed three Hercules transport aircraft to Scotland, where they are helping deliver supplies to Ukrainian forces.
During her visit to Poland, Minister Anand met with her Polish counterpart, Mariusz Błaszczak. The two ministers pledged to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence.
As part of Operation UNIFIER – formed to assist Ukrainian forces in the face of the Russian invasion – 33,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel were trained by Canadian soldiers. Canada also provided military personnel to help Ukrainian refugees.
“Poland and Canada are close NATO allies, and the progress made at today’s meeting will help us build an even closer defense relationship,” Minister Anand said in a statement.
“Both Poland and Canada have shown leadership in supporting Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion. »
Ottawa “anti-Russian”
In a separate press briefing on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the attack on the Crimean Bridge constituted a terrorist attack that called for retaliation. The ministry also urged Ottawa not to offer more weapons and training to the Ukrainian army, arguing that this hinders a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
“The Russian-Canadian relationship is, unfortunately, going through a deep crisis,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in Russian. It is the fault of the administration in Ottawa, because it is following the anti-Russian path that it has followed for a long time, at the request of the Trudeau regime. »
Mme Zakharova also said that as of Tuesday, the Russian Embassy in Ottawa had not received any update on the Canadian police investigation into a Molotov cocktail thrown over the fence a month ago, without exploding.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.