Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. The latter promised Ukraine 650 million Canadian dollars in aid.
Volodymyr Zelensky continues his North American tour. After the USA, the Ukrainian President visited Canada on Friday, September 22nd. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to help his country in the war “as long as it takes.” “When we ask the world for support, this is not an ordinary conflict,” the Ukrainian president told parliamentarians. “It’s about saving millions of lives. It is really our survival,” he stressed. At the same time, Kiev claimed on Friday a “successful attack” on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea. Franceinfo looks back at the highlights of the day.
Canada announces 650 million Canadian dollars in aid to Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky met in Ottawa with Justin Trudeau, who leads a country that is home to a large Ukrainian diaspora. They held a bilateral meeting and then addressed elected representatives of Parliament.
Before the Ukrainian president took the podium, Justin Trudeau announced a new aid package for Kyiv worth 650 million Canadian dollars (452 million euros) over three years. It includes about 50 armored vehicles and training of Ukrainian pilots in F-16 fighter jets.
“We will stand with all the heroes of this courageous fight for as long as it lasts.”
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
during a speech to Canadian parliamentarians
“History will judge us by how we defend democratic values. And Ukraine is the spearhead of this great issue of the 21st century,” the Canadian prime minister added.
Following the Ukrainian attack, Crimea was hit by an “unprecedented” cyberattack
Kiev claims to have carried out a “successful attack” on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in annexed Crimea, leaving at least one person missing. This Ukrainian region, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and the city of Sevastopol, home to the attacked naval headquarters, are at the heart of Russia’s military system for its invasion of Ukraine. The area is crucial for Russia both for supplying troops in southern Ukraine and for carrying out missile strikes from the sea.
“The enemy carried out a missile attack on the fleet headquarters,” the Sevastopol governor wrote on Telegram. The Russian Defense Ministry, which initially announced the death of a soldier, then clarified that he was missing.
Russian-based authorities on the peninsula also announced a few hours after the attack that Crimea had been hit by an “unprecedented” cyberattack against internet service providers that had led to outages. However, it was not specified whether this computer attack was directly related to the attacks.
Russia relaunches its “energy terror” as winter approaches
The warning was issued by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal at an economic forum in Kiev. “We see it in the destruction of infrastructure” related to the production and storage of fuels and “the first strikes” against electricity companies “in the last two weeks,” he listed, according to the agency. Press Interfax-Ukraine.
>> BEFORE/AFTER. War in Ukraine: See how power outages plunge the country into darkness through satellite images
However, the head of government estimated that Ukraine was better prepared than last winter, when Moscow’s attacks on energy infrastructure regularly plunged millions of people into darkness and cold. In his opinion, this better preparation is partly linked to the supply of Western air defense systems. “The winter will certainly be harsh, certainly not easier than the previous one,” but “we know what the enemy is preparing and what challenges lie ahead,” the Ukrainian prime minister added.