Russia’s ambassador to Canada says he fully supports what he calls his country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“I am a patriot of my country and I stand with my president and I am with the troops on the ground,” Russian Ambassador Oleg Stepanov told CTV in question. “I and my colleagues here at the embassy, we are 100 percent confident that we are on the right side of history.
In an intense and extensive interview with CTV Question Period host Evan Solomon, Stepanov categorically denied that his country was committing war crimes and targeting civilians in Ukraine, even claiming that Ukrainian forces themselves were responsible for the atrocities. committed. blame Russia.
“[The] “The Russian army is destroying only military equipment,” Stepanov said falsely. Despite images of destroyed homes and hospitals, Stepanov also said Russia’s efforts to protect civilians “are one of the reasons this operation has been [going] very slowly.”
Although Russian diplomats have been accused of spreading misinformation and parrot propaganda, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rejected calls for their expulsion from Canada, saying such actions would provoke a similar move by Russia.
“We don’t want to run out of resources in Moscow,” Trudeau told reporters on April 6th.
Speaking about a period of questions, Stepanov tried to portray his country’s war as an act of protection for “ethnic Russians” and support for the independence of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in eastern Donbass, Ukraine.
“There are two principles in international law: one the principle of sovereignty and the other the principle of self-determination,” Stepanov said. “We will leave the people of Ukraine to decide what they want.”
Watch CTV Question Period host Evan Solomon’s full interview with Russian Ambassador Oleg Stepanov at the top of this article.
With files from CTVNews.ca writer Michael Lee.
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