(Kiev) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday for a surprise visit to show Canada’s solidarity with Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to push back Russia, more than a year after the country’s invasion began.
Posted at 7:14 am. Updated at 7:50am
Bill Graveland The Canadian Press
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is accompanying him on the journey, which began with the laying of a wreath on the memorial wall of the gold-domed St. Michael’s Monastery to honor Ukrainians who fell defending their homeland. They also met Ukrainian soldiers.
On the way, the Prime Minister once leaned over to peer into one of the frames of burned-out Russian tanks and military vehicles that fill the public square. Just before Mr. Trudeau and Mrs. Freeland arrived, there was dark music and a guard of honor for a coffin being carried into the cathedral for a funeral.
PHOTO VALENTYN OGIRENKO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accompanied by Canadian Treasury Secretary Chrystia Freeland, visits a wrecked vehicle exhibit.
This is the second time Prime Minister Trudeau has paid an unannounced visit to the unstable country since Russia began its massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Justin Trudeau also visited Ukraine in May 2022, where he reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in person for the first time since the war began.
Some media outlets, including The Canadian Press, were given advance notice of Saturday’s trip on the condition that, for security reasons, it will not be reported until it is made public.
As of early Saturday morning, the Prime Minister’s office had not released Mr Trudeau’s usual itinerary for the day.
The UK MoD earlier on Saturday reported “significant Ukrainian operations” in the east and south of the country since Thursday morning, with increases in some areas.
The ministry reported mixed results from the Russian military on the ground, with some units on the ground “while others withdrew in some disarray.”
The British Ministry of Defense also noted “unusually active” Russian airstrikes in southern Ukraine, where it is easier for Moscow to fly its planes.
Earlier this week, a dam on the Dnieper River collapsed, flooding much of the front line in southern Ukraine and worsening the humanitarian situation – including the need for clean water – in an already bombed area.
It is still unclear how the dam collapsed. Kiev accused Russia of bombing the dam and its hydroelectric power station, which were under Moscow control, which Moscow refutes and blames Ukraine for the destruction instead.
Trudeau and Zelenskyy also spent time together last month on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where Ukraine’s president continued his campaign to bolster support from Western allies for his country’s defense.
Canada has joined other countries in condemning the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin for this abuse, including through economic sanctions.
Canada has also contributed more than $8 billion to war-related efforts in Ukraine since last year.
That money includes the launch of a special immigration program designed to allow Ukrainians to quickly get to Canada on temporary work and study permits, rather than going through the usual refugee status determination system.
This aid also includes military assistance worth around €1 billion, including the donation of eight Leopard 2 main battle tanks in support of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was visiting Toronto in April, when Trudeau announced Canada would provide aid in the form of thousands of assault rifles, dozens of machine guns and millions of cartridges to help the Ukrainian army fight the Russian invader.
Mr Shmyhal had thanked Canada for its support, but he had also stressed the need to do more.
Asked what else Canada could do to help, Trudeau said at the G7 summit in Hiroshima that it could also involve Canadian military pilots.
“We are certainly not against any form of aid,” he said at the end of the G7 summit on May 21.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also stressed that countries committed to a negotiated ceasefire must recognize that Russia is responsible for the conflict and that it could end its invasion.
“No truce is necessary. it’s peace And that peace can only be achieved if Russia decides to end its continued invasion of a sovereign neighbor,” Prime Minister Trudeau said.
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee took a similar view after visiting the region in February.
“The strategic consequences of allowing Russia to profit from its aggression would far outweigh the financial cost of supporting Ukraine,” the committee’s April report said.