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Thousands of Russian troops, backed by artillery and rocket fire, launched a long-awaited offensive in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday
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April 19, 2022 • 12 hours ago • 2 minutes reading • 305 comments Members of the security forces help an injured man after the bombing of Russia in a factory in Kramatorsk, Eastern Ukraine, April 19, 2022 Photo by Petros Giannakouris / AP
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OTTAWA – With Russian forces moving forward in a new offensive in Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will have news in the coming days of providing heavy artillery to the country.
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Trudeau said he was in regular contact with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, and that was what the country needed as Russia massaged troops for a new attack.
“We are very responsive to what they need most. “Their latest request from Canada is to help them with heavy artillery, because this is the phase of the war at the moment,” he said at an event in New Brunswick.
Trudeau said the government would comply with the request, but did not provide details.
“Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine, with more details to come in the coming days,” he said.
The cabinet of Defense Minister Anita Anand also could not provide further details.
Thousands of Russian troops, backed by artillery and rocket fire, launched a long-awaited offensive in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.
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Ukrainian authorities have said their troops will resist the attack, calling it the Battle of Donbass. But the Russians pressed the offensive through almost the entire section of the Eastern Front, and hours after it began, they captured a front-line city.
Ukraine says the new attack has led to the capture of Kremina, an administrative center with 18,000 people in Luhansk, one of Donbass’s two provinces.
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The Donbass, which produces coal and steel, has been the focus of Russia’s 2014 destabilization campaign against Ukraine, when the Kremlin used proxies to create separatist “people’s republics” in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.
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Moscow now says its goal is to take over the full provinces on behalf of the separatists. Ukraine has large forces defending the northern parts of Donbass, and military experts say Russia aims to cut them off or surround them.
Russia is strengthening its forces in the east of the country after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the capital Kyiv in the early days of the war. Trudeau said Ukraine’s struggle is a pledge for all Western countries and Canada’s support will continue.
“Unfortunately, even when Russia withdraws from Kyiv, it is stepping up its attacks on Donbass. “Ukrainians have fought as heroes for the last few months, and they are not just fighting for Ukraine, they are fighting for the values that underlie so many of our free democracies,” he said.
Canada also announced new sanctions against 14 people in Russia on Tuesday, including the eldest daughters of President Vladimir Putin. Since the beginning of the conflict, Canada has sanctioned more than 1,200 individuals or organizations.
Trudeau said Canada would continue to step up pressure and find new people to sanction to end the conflict.
“This Russian regime and its collaborators must continue to be held accountable for their actions.
“With an additional Reuters report.”
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