Ukraine

On 6 June, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Kyiv to reaffirm Canada’s solidarity and ongoing support for Ukraine. Significantly, the visit – Harper’s third since January 2014 – took place on the eve of this year’s G7 Summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany. During the visit Prime Minister Harper met with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to discuss the international community’s response to Russian aggression and Canada’s continued support for Ukraine’s ambitious economic and democratic reforms. “Canada strongly condemns Russia’s aggressive actions in eastern Ukraine and its illegal annexation of Crimea, and will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine in the face of the ongoing violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” stated Harper. “I am glad to ...

Homin Ukrainy/Ukrainian Echo will travel with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his upcoming trip to Ukraine on June 5-6, 2015. The Prime Minister’s trip immediately precedes the G-7 Summit on June 7-8, 2015 in Schloss Elmau, Germany. This will be Prime Minister Harper’s third visit to Ukraine since January 2014. Together with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the three leaders will discuss the international community’s response to Russian aggression and Canada’s continued support for Ukraine’s ambitious economic and democratic reforms. “I look forward to receiving a personal update on the situation in Ukraine from President Poroshenko and...

On April 27, 2015 representatives of the Guardian Angels Ukraine (GAU) Project took part in the official opening of a rehabilitation centre providing psychological and physical treatment for Ukrainian military servicemen. The centre, which is sponsored by Guardian Angels Ukraine, is located at the Irpin Military Hospital near Kyiv. “In the wake of Russia’s massive military onslaught, Ukraine’s wounded soldiers have made great sacrifices to defend a European Ukraine and protect the democratic values that we share. Today’s event represents a first step in our efforts to assist Ukraine as it confronts enormous challenges in the area of rehabilitation medicine. We cannot ignore the urgent need to improve the rehab services at Ukraine’s network of military medical ...

From a distance, the war in eastern Ukraine seems to have changed little since its beginnings in the spring of 2014. The groups fighting are the same – the Ukrainian army, the pro-Ukrainian volunteer battalions, and the Russian forces along with their proxies. Territory has been gained here and lost there. Ceasefires have been instituted and violated. But from within, the war of late winter is different from that which was being fought during the summer. I rejoined Donbas Battalion at the end of February. The group had split up since I was last with...

From a distance, the war in eastern Ukraine seems to have changed little since its beginnings in the spring of 2014. The groups fighting are the same – the Ukrainian army, the pro-Ukrainian volunteer battalions, and the Russian forces along with their proxies. Territory has been gained here and lost there. Ceasefires have been instituted and violated. But from within, the war of late winter is different from that which was being fought during the summer. I rejoined Donbas Battalion at the end of February. The group had split up since I was last with them in August: the second in command – Filin – had created a splinter group (also called Donbas Battalion) and the remaining group under Semen Semenchenko was fragmented and of a very different makeup than during the summer. Many of the men from the...

On March 18, 2015 outside of the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv, a press conference was held that was attended by Ukraine’s Minister of Defence Colonel General Stepan Poltorak, the Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine, Roman Waschuk, and Lenna Koszarny, Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Ukraine Advisory Council, along with members of the Ukrainian and Canadian militaries. At the press conference it was announce that the first shipment of the PVS-7 night vision optic system was delivered from Canada to Ukraine. This latest aid package was in accordance to the November 2014 Government of Canada announcement that it would be sending a provision of...

If any Crimean Tatar had hoped that fears about Russia’s occupation of their homeland were unfounded, hope died back on Sept 17, 2014. The Mejlis, or representative body of the Crimean Tatar People has been given 24 hours to ‘vacate’ their headquarters in Simferopol. Associations with the Deportation when all Crimean Tatars were given just half an hour to prepare for exile are perhaps exaggerated, however the reminders of Soviet repression are increasing by the day. The occupation regime has formally targeted the Crimea Fund charitable organization which owns the relevant building on Schmidt St, however their real aim is clearly the...

On 10 February 2015 in Kyiv, Ukraine, the leadership of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) held a series of meetings with government officials, Members of Parliament, religious leaders and community activists in Ukraine, and the Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine to strengthen cooperation in the defence of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine with the escalation of armed aggression by the Russian Federation and terrorist activities of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics. The UWC President Eugene Czolij also introduced the newly appointed Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Serhiy Kasyanchuk. The UWC delegation, headed by UWC President Eugene Czolij, included...

During a recently concluded trade and development mission to Ukraine, Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, sought to deliver three main messages. The first was that Canada would continue to be a steadfast and trusted partner in Ukraine, reaffirming its recognition of the enormous security and economic challenges facing the country today. The second was to renew negotiations towards a Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, which follows a political commitment made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during his visit to Canada...

On 26 January 2015 the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, came to the offices of Patriot Defence in Kyiv to announce that Canada will be contributing $1 million for medical support initiatives. Patriot Defence - a volunteer-run humanitarian initiative - will benefit from this funding, which will help support their tactical medical training and the procurement of their Individual First Aid Kits (IFAKs). On display at the announcement were 100 kits, earmarked as the...