Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that Canada is providing Ukraine with more weapons, which he says will help the country win on the battlefield against Russia.
Canada will donate four additional Leopard 2 main battle tanks to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, growing Canada's contribution to eight tanks in total, Trudeau said.
Canada will also donate an armoured recovery vehicle and over 5,000 rounds of ammunition.
New sanctions are being imposed on 122 people and 13 entities that are complicit in Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine, Trudeau said.
This includes members of the lower house of Russia's parliament who have voted in favour of legislation related to the invasion and attempted annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
Other sanctioned individuals include family members of previously sanctioned people, Russian deputy prime ministers and ministers, people in the office of President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military.
On the one year anniversary of the invasion, Trudeau called Putin a coward and weak, and reinforced that Canada is a friend of Ukraine.
"Putin thought his invasion would be a quick victory, but he was mistaken. Ukrainians have stood strong over the last 365 days and counting, and as Russia continues its brutal war against Ukraine, Canada and Canadians will stand by the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes," Trudeau said in a written statement.
More weapons will allow Ukrainian people to regain their territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in a press conference on Friday in Kyiv.
"We're getting ready. We're ready in spirit. And we're getting ready as far as weapons are concerned, as far as forming attack brigades are concerned," Zelenskyy said through a translator.
Banner image: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2023.
