Ottawa, February 24: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s second tranche of sanctions against Russia for their attack on Ukraine, which includes financial penalties against 58 individuals and entities and the halting of all export permits.
Trudeau said he spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday morning, and that during a G7 meeting agreed that Russia’s actions will not go unpunished.
“We condemn unequivocally this attack on Ukraine, this invasion of Ukraine, but also the violation of the UN Charter, the principles, the rule of law internationally, and we will respond forcefully to make sure that Russia fails,” he said.
“Russia’s actions stand in direct opposition to the democratic principles that generations of Canadians have fought to protect. Democracies, and democratic leaders everywhere, must come together to defend these principles and stand firmly against authoritarianism.”
The announced sanctions will include members of the Russian elite and their family members, as well as the Wagner Group and major Russian banks, among others. Canada will also sanction members of the Russian Security Council, including the defence minister, the finance minister and the justice minister.
Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as it said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in a “full-scale war” that could rewrite the geopolitical order.
In the hours since, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its ground forces have moved into Ukraine from Crimea, the first confirmation from Moscow that its ground forces have moved in.
The federal government has arranged for safe passage for Canadian and permanent resident families at the land borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova, Trudeau said.
Trudeau said the government is also urgently issuing travel documents for those affected, and are prioritizing immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada. The government is also launching a new dedicated phone line for anyone in Canada or abroad that have urgent Ukraine-related immigration questions.
“We stand united and steadfast in our support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. And we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people’s right to decide their own future in a free and democratic state,” he said.
The prime minister was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Anita Anand, and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
“History will judge President Putin as harshly as the world condemns him today. Today, he cements his place in the ranks of the reviled European dictators who caused such carnage in the 20th century.”
The measures included banning Canadians from all financial dealings with Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as approving the deployment of up to 460 Canadian Armed Forces troops to Latvia as part of Operation REASSURANCE to “reinforce” Canada’s commitment to NATO.
Anand said 3,400 more troops have been put on standby to assist with the NATO Response Force should they be required.
