Protesters called on Canada to “be bold like Ukraine” and maintain economic sanctions against Russia on Sunday, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered essentially the same message to the prime minister.
In a phone call between the leaders, Zelensky told Justin Trudeau that his position on sanctions against Russia “must be principled” at a time when relations between Canada and the country in conflict have been somewhat strained by Canada’s controversial decision to send parts of Russian natural gas pipeline back to Germany.
Zelensky summed up their conversation in a brief statement shared on Twitter, saying he thanked Trudeau for the continued strong defense support Canada offers his country, but also stressed the importance of compliance with sanctions.
Spoke to @JustinTrudeau. Thanks for your continued strong defense support. He emphasized again that the international position on sanctions should be principled. After the terrorist attacks in Vinnytsia, Nikolaev, Chasov Yar, etc. the pressure should increase, not decrease.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyi (@ZelenskyyUa) July 17, 2022
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“After the terrorist attacks in Vinnytsia, Nikolaev, Chasov Yar, etc. the pressure should increase, not decrease,” he said.
Trudeau reiterated Canada’s support for Ukraine against Russia’s military aggression, according to an official account of the discussion from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two leaders also talked about maintaining unity among their allies and imposing “serious costs” on Russia, the PMO said.
Canada agreed earlier this month to grant an exemption to economic sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The two-year exemption would allow six Siemens Energy turbines that were in Montreal for repairs to be returned to Germany for use in Russia’s state-run Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Trudeau previously defended the decision and said Canada’s German ally relies on natural gas supplies from the pipeline.
Read more: Gazprom turbine return to Germany ‘very difficult’ but important move: Trudeau
In a written and video address last week, however, Zelensky called the move “absolutely unacceptable.”
Russian state energy company Gazprom cut gas supplies from its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs to northeastern Germany, by 60 percent last month, citing technical problems with the turbines.
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The decision left several Ukrainian supporters who attended a rally in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon in a state of disbelief.
Canadian-Ukrainian Yuri Kolomiets told a crowd of about 150 supporters gathered on the lawn of Parliament Hill that the decision would mean more oil and gas money for Russia to finance its attack on Ukraine.
“I guess it’s fine to supply the genocidal maniacs with the technology and the money as long as it makes the German voters happy,” Kolomiec told the crowd, prompting shouts of “shame” in response.
“It is not their children who die in the missile strikes.
2:13 Ukraine’s Zelensky criticizes Canada for returning a sanctioned turbine Ukraine’s Zelensky criticizes Canada for returning a sanctioned turbine
Two young protesters, Areniy Pivtorak and Ladoslao Zaicka, have been camped outside Parliament Hill for days and say they have been on hunger strike since July 9, when the release was announced.
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“This decision broke our hearts. We felt as if the pockets of Germans were more important than the lives of Ukrainians,” 19-year-old Pivtorak said of the decision.
Zaichka said he was particularly passionate about the decision because he has family in Ukraine.
“What Justin Trudeau has done and what the Canadian government has done is upsetting to me as a Canadian, but even worse to me as a Ukrainian,” he said.
The head of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress in Ottawa is planning the protest on Parliament Hill to demand the government reverse the exemption.
Protesters called on Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who defended the turbine decision last week, to respond to the Ukrainian community in Canada. They also chanted for the government to “stand by Ukraine.”
Speaking to reporters in a teleconference after a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bali, Indonesia on Saturday, Freeland said Germany’s ability to maintain its support for Ukraine could be at risk if the turbines are not returned. She said a united G7 effort would be needed to support Ukraine and that allowing repaired parts to return to Germany was “the right thing to do”.
The congress’s parent organization, the World Ukrainian Congress, petitioned the Federal Court for judicial review in hopes of stopping the turbines from reaching Germany.
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“Both Canada and Germany, in our opinion, have been manipulated here by the Russians,” Ukrainian Congress National Executive Director Igor Mikhalchyshyn said ahead of the planned protest.
The group claims that Canada has succumbed to Russian blackmail and set a dangerous precedent that will lead to a weakening of the sanctions regime imposed on Russia.
“It’s a decision that has angered Canadians and the Ukrainian government as well,” Mikhalchyshyn said.
Read more: Why return of Canadian turbine to Russia’s Gazprom sparks sparks? Here’s what we know
He said the Ukrainian-Canadians included in his group initially expressed surprise and disappointment when they learned Canada would allow the turbines to be returned.
The Ukrainian-Canadian Congress is expected to appear at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss the decision, along with the ambassadors of Ukraine, Germany and the European Union to Canada.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson were also called to the committee to answer questions about the exemption.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
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