Canada names new Ukraine ambassador as country marks hard-fought independence – National | 24CA News
Canada named a brand new ambassador to Ukraine on Thursday, an announcement that coincides with the embattled nation’s annual independence celebration because it fights to beat again the 18-month-old Russian invasion.
Natalka Cmoc, a Ukrainian speaker who has had postings within the nation associated to human rights and safety programming, has “deep connections to the Ukrainian community in Ukraine and in Canada,” the Canadian authorities stated in a press release saying her appointment.
“She will serve as Canada’s eyes and ears in Kyiv, and ensure that Canada is able to continue to support Ukraine through this difficult time and for the long term,” the assertion from Global Affairs Canada stated.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly congratulated Cmoc in a press release and thanked her predecessor, Larisa Galadza, who has held the publish since 2019.
“Thank you Larisa for representing Canadians and for always standing up for what is right,” Joly stated on social media.
Cmoc served as a counsellor on the Ukrainian embassy from 2011 to 2013, engaged on democracy and human rights programming.
In 2014, she labored to determine Canada’s first safety programming operations in Ukraine following Russia’s unlawful annexation of Crimea and supported the launch of Operation UNIFIER, the Canadian navy’s coaching program for Ukraine’s armed forces.
Joly stated that work will “be an asset” as Cmoc takes on the ambassadorship.
More not too long ago, Cmoc has held postings in different authorities ministries, together with defence and Indigenous companies. She was most not too long ago a director common at Public Services and Procurement Canada, the place she dealt with infrastructure and modernization within the parliamentary precinct.
Ukraine is dealing with large infrastructure and rebuilding challenges that can final for years when it is ready to get well from Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Earlier Thursday, Joly hosted Ukrainian ambassador to Canada Yuliya Kovaliv and different overseas envoys at Global Affairs Canada headquarters to mark Independence Day of Ukraine, the place assist for the nation amid the conflict was a key matter.
Ottawa says it’s gearing up for a diplomatic push on a number of continents to get the world to endorse Kyiv’s imaginative and prescient of an finish to the conflict, by way of a plan that features a full restoration of all Ukraine’s territory and a war-crimes tribunal.
During the occasion, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Canada to make use of its “diplomatic muscle” to assist collect assist for Ukraine’s peace plan.
Kuleba additionally used his video handle to name on Ottawa to extend its anti-landmine assist and lengthen navy funding past the subsequent 12 months, based on a Canadian Press report on the closed-door breakfast.
Joly stated Ottawa would reveal extra within the coming days, however she appeared open to Ukraine’s name for a long-term navy dedication, whereas explicitly stating Canada will assist the peace plan.
The breakfast was attended by the highest envoys for a number of European nations, in addition to states that haven’t outright condemned Russia for the invasion, reminiscent of India, South Africa and Nigeria.
—With information from the Canadian Press
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