Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned new Russian air attacks and announced additional economic assistance for Ukraine as he and the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stood side-by-side and spoke to reporters at a Halifax-area airport.
The two leaders embraced as Carney welcomed Zelenskyy to Canada. Zelenskyy touched down for a brief stop on his way to Florida for planned peace talks with U.S. president Donald Trump this weekend, which he called “very important and very constructive.”
Russia attacked Ukraine's capital with missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27. The Russian Defense Ministry said the strike targeted energy infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, though several residential buildings were hit.
Carney said Canada will provide a further $2.5 billion of economic assistance for Ukraine, noting the money will help unlock financing from other organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for reconstruction.
"The barbarism that we saw overnight -- the attack on Kiev -- shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine during this difficult time," Carney said.
Zelenskyy thanked Canada for its support and called the new attacks "Russia's answer on our peace efforts” and said it showed that Russian president Vladimir Putin “doesn’t want peace.”
Zelenskyy also called Putin a “man of war.”
Moscow has said the new strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.
Canada has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, committing $6.5 billion in military support along with humanitarian aid.
The $2.5 billion that Canada committed to providing Saturday should enable the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to lend nearly $10 billion to Ukraine to support reconstruction, the Prime Minister's Office said in a news release. The funding will also be used to guarantee a loan of up to $322 million from the European Bank to assist Ukraine in reinforcing energy security.
"Canada has committed new support to Ukraine, not only to help end this war, but also to help the Ukrainian people recover and rebuild," said Carney in the statement.
"Canada stands with Ukraine, because their cause -- freedom, democracy, sovereignty -- is our cause."
Zelenskyy has said the U. S-backed peace plan is about 90 per cent ready, but sticking points remain on security guarantees and other issues.
Following their brief remarks, Carney and Zelenskyy attended a private bilateral meeting, followed by a virtual meeting with other world leaders and members of the Coalition of the Willing. In attendance were leaders of Italy, Germany, France, Sweden and NATO, along with other nations.
The Ukrainian leader's stop in Canada followed a phone call between him and Carney on Friday.
In a social media post after that call, Zelenskyy said he believed much can be accomplished between Ukraine and the U.S., though he accused Russia of dragging its feet and trying to waste time.
"Russia keeps tormenting our cities and our people. Moscow has turned down even the proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone strikes," the Ukrainian leader said in a post after meeting with Carney, where he also noted the importance of Canada's new financial assistance.
Zelenskyy has said he would aim to ensure there were “as few unresolved issues as possible” in talks with Trump, while respecting Ukraine's red lines. He has said that in the draft peace plan, the U.S. has committed to providing guarantees that mirror the NATO alliance's Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the U.S. and its allies.
But key details must be worked out in a bilateral agreement.
Territorial concessions are the most sensitive of issues the two leaders will discuss, including the Donetsk region and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would never recognize any territory as Russian “under any circumstances."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Riley Smith
