Canada has announced fresh military aid for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia, according to a report from Reuters on April 11. After holding talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Toronto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to send 21,000 assault rifles, 38 machine guns, and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine. In addition, Canada will impose sanctions on 14 Russian individuals and 34 entities, including targets linked to the Wagner Group, a private military company. ‘We will continue to support Ukraine with everything needed for as long as necessary,’ Trudeau said, adding that Ottawa will also impose sanctions on nine entities tied to the Belarusian financial sector to further pressure Russia’s ‘enablers in Belarus.’
Canada has been supporting Ukraine with financial, military, humanitarian, and other assistance since January 2020, with over C$8 billion committed to date. On February 24, 2022, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that his government was imposing sanctions on an additional 192 Russian individuals and entities. These sanctions targeted Russian lawmakers who supported Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, including ministers in Putin’s cabinet, the military and defence sector, as well as family members of individuals already on Canada’s sanctions list.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s general staff reported that Russia continued its offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, where several cities and towns came under heavy bombardment. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, accused Moscow of ‘scorched earth’ tactics and stated that the enemy was destroying buildings and positions with air strikes and artillery fire, using tactics similar to those employed in Syria.
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