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The prime minister’s office says it must meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to show Canada’s support for the country and its people.
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May 08, 2022 • 9 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 890 comments “He came to Irpin to see with his own eyes all the horror that the Russian occupiers did to our city,” said Irpin Mayor Alexander Markushin Photo by Alexander Markushin / Facebook
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid an unexpected visit to Ukraine on Sunday, where he reopened the Canadian embassy in Kyiv and expressed unwavering support for the warring country.
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Trudeau met in person with Vladimir Zelensky for the first time since Russia launched its invasion in late February, appearing with the Ukrainian president at a news conference.
He announced new Canadian military support for Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms, ammunition and funding for demining operations.
Canada is giving $ 25 million to the World Food Security Program in Ukraine and will eliminate trade tariffs on all Ukrainian imports coming to Canada next year, Trudeau said.
In addition, Ottawa is imposing new sanctions on another 40 Russian individuals and legal entities – oligarchs and close associates of the regime and the defense sector, all participants in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, he said.
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Canada also provides money to support and protect women’s organizations, human rights defenders and civil society, Trudeau added.
Deputy Prime Minister Christia Freeland and Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie joined Trudeau during the trip.
They began the day in Irpin, a city badly damaged during Russia’s attempt to take Kyiv at the start of the war.
Trudeau told a news conference that he was witnessing the resilience of Ukrainians as people rebuilt their shattered world.
“It was a real inspiration to see how people are stepping up to defend their lives, to defend their community, to defend a bright future for themselves, for the families in the country they love,” he said.
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“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for heinous war crimes. There must be accountability. Canada will support Ukraine as you seek justice for your people, whom Russia is killing and cruel.
Canada began reducing its diplomatic presence in Ukraine in late January, when intelligence warned of an impending Russian invasion.
Representatives of most Western countries fled Ukraine when the war broke out, but more than two dozen have already returned, even as the conflict dragged on.
Several of Canada’s G7 allies have already returned to Kyiv – France and Italy in the third week of April and the United Kingdom last week.
On Sunday, Trudeau, Freeland and Jolie arrived at the embassy in Kyiv with a heavily armed security guard.
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Larisa Galadza, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine, joined them in a flag-raising ceremony. Eventually, they raised the flag on the side of the building after the first flagpole was broken.
“I think this is proof of how the Ukrainian people have been so strong and resilient,” Trudeau said.
“And the fact that our Canadian flag is flying on the streets of Kyiv again is just another proof of the strength and solidarity of Canadians and Ukrainians and how we continue to be with them.
The Canadian press was informed of Trudeau’s trip on condition that it was not announced until it was made public for security reasons.
The Associated Press reported that Jill Biden paid a surprise visit to western Ukraine today to meet with First Lady Olena Zelenska for Mother’s Day.
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Other world leaders have traveled to Kyiv in recent weeks to show solidarity with Ukraine, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechamer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also went to Kyiv last week.
The public route to Trudeau, announced on Saturday, suggests that he will be in the National Capital Region on Sunday and will take part in a meeting of G7 leaders on the situation in Ukraine. However, the route was updated on Sunday to mark Trudeau’s presence in Kyiv.
The visit came as dozens of Ukrainians were killed after a Russian bomb destroyed a school that housed about 90 people in eastern Ukraine.
The Luhansk district governor said on Sunday that 30 people had been rescued from the rubble of a school in the village of Bilogorovka, but the rest probably did not survive.
Elsewhere, more explosions shook the Black Sea port of Odessa.
Ukrainian soldiers, who are standing for the last time at the steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol, have said they will not surrender after the evacuation of civilians from the area.
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