Ottawa pledges $32M to boost Ukraine security on anniversary of Russian war – National | 24CA News

Ottawa introduced greater than $32 million in safety assist for Ukraine on Friday because the war-torn nation marked one yr of full-scale battle with neighbouring Russia.

The federal authorities’s announcement comes as G7 nations prepared a recent spherical of sanctions on Russia, which began the battle when President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into the neighbouring nation on Feb. 24, 2022.

Roughly $9.7 million of Friday’s announcement stems from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s $151.7-million Ukraine assist bundle introduced in June 2022, the federal government mentioned in a news launch.

Friday’s announcement consists of $7.5 million for demining efforts, $13 million for “accountability efforts” that embrace addressing conflict-related sexual violence, and $12 million to counter chemical, organic, radiological and nuclear threats.

“For an entire year, Canada and the international community have rallied like never before to support Ukraine’s resilience in the face of President Putin’s aggressions,” mentioned Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly in a press release.

“Canada’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is unwavering. We will not stand down until Russia is held accountable for its crimes.”

5:09Ukrainians mirror, look forward after one yr of battle

Furthermore, the federal government introduced Friday it has joined the “Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine (ACA)” alongside the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. The group will assist Ukraine’s battle crimes division and prosecutor common to research and prosecute battle crimes dedicated in Ukraine, the federal government mentioned.

Since Russia’s invasion, the federal authorities mentioned it has dedicated over $5 billion in multifaceted assist to Ukraine, together with over $2.6 billion in help, greater than $1.2 billion in navy support, $320 million in humanitarian support, $96 million in improvement help and greater than $68 million in safety and stabilization programming.

Leaders of the G7 nations, which embrace Canada, had been scheduled to satisfy nearly Friday to finalize what’s anticipated to be a brand new spherical of sanctions in opposition to Russia on the anniversary of its invasion.

Earlier within the day, the United Kingdom and the United States individually imposed new sanctions, together with export bans and tariffs on all supplies used within the battle, in addition to “third country actors” supporting Russia’s battle effort throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Hours after Putin launched his invasion final yr, the G7 got here collectively to impose extreme sanctions in opposition to Moscow, the primary in what can be a number of packages aimed toward limiting Russia’s capacity to fund its battle efforts in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Trudeau instructed reporters Canada and its allies would stand by Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

“People of Ukraine are not just fighting for protection of their own territory, their language or the identity of their sovereignty, they are fighting to uphold the rules that underpin all of our democracies: territorial integrity, respect for sovereignty, respect for international law and the UN Charter,” Trudeau instructed reporters in Halifax.

“Russia chose to destabilize that and put all that into question, and it’s not just a question of Russia’s behaviour towards Ukraine or any countries around Russia, it’s a question of other countries around the world wondering that, ‘Oh, perhaps might makes right, now. Perhaps because we have a larger army than our neighbour, we can invade, we can attack.’

“The consequences of Canadians not standing with Ukraine, the world not standing with Ukraine right now, could be devastating … for the entire planet. That’s why Canada and our allies will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as long as it takes.”

— with information from Reuters

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