Politics

Canada's top soldier has just wrapped up a visit to Ukraine's capital. A readout released by the department on Saturday says Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre received detailed briefings while he was in Kyiv from Ukrainian officials, including from his counterpart, commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. It says he also met with Ukrainian soldiers, some of whom were trained by Canada under Operation Unifier, which trains Ukrainians in the United Kingdom and Poland...

World leaders used the G20 joint final document, which different sources call a declaration, a statement or a communiqué, to “slam Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has dominated the summit,” according to DW. “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy,” the document said. It then reiterated the position of these members that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.” However, the joint communiqué also acknowledged that “there were other views and different assessments of the situation,” as well as ...

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement: “Canada strongly condemns the sham referendums planned in occupied regions of Ukraine. These phony exercises with predetermined results will have zero legitimacy, and Canada will not recognize them. Borders will not change. Ukraine’s territory will remain Ukraine’s. “Russia’s war has never been about legitimate security interests—it has been about President Vladimir Putin’s desire to redraw the map using force. From the beginning, Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion aimed to seize and annex territories in an independent country, murdering and tormenting its citizens in the process. This is a blatant attack on the principles of rules-based international order and human rights, as well as a clear violation of international law. It also makes a mockery of the principles that Russia has pledged to uphold as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council...

Nearly 20 of our fellow experts and national security professionals — whose digital signatures appear at the end of this op-ed — agree: The war in Ukraine has reached a decisive moment and that vital U.S. interests are at stake. Long before the Kremlin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, we have — from senior positions in the U.S. government and military — followed Moscow's foreign policy and the grave dangers it presents to the United States and our allies. We have carefully watched Moscow's major offensive since February and the response of the Biden administration and its allies and partners. We have maintained close touch with Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials. Two of us just returned from meetings with Ukraine's defense and military leaders...

With every passing day, it is becoming clearer that Russia is committing the gravest crime imaginable in Ukraine: genocide. Russian forces have ravaged many parts of the country, massacring, raping, torturing, deporting, and terrorizing a vulnerable civilian population. A chilling logic lies behind these acts of violence, one that seeks to extinguish Ukrainian national identity, wiping out modern Ukraine as an independent country through the killing and the Russification of its residents. Correctly understanding the stakes, the United States has already committed significant resources to the defense of Ukraine. What happens on Ukrainian frontlines will determine the future of Western security. A Ukrainian victory will uphold international law in the face of a flagrant violation of territorial sovereignty, reaffirm the imperative of nuclear nonproliferation, and maintain the credibility of the United States on the international stage...

A veiled manifesto of appeasement from a newspaper known for its stellar coverage of Russia’s horrific invasion has disappointed many. In the editorial, the New York Times editorial board argues that it’s too dangerous to assume that Ukraine can win the war. It says “Russia is too strong,” that Ukraine should make a “painful compromise” and give up some territories to Russia. The U.S. must understand the futility and stop “taunting” Russia, the editorial says. Meaning: Ukraine will lose anyway, stop helping it so it’s over faster. In short, the editorial attempts to pass off appeasement and betrayal of the free world’s values as pragmatic reasoning. Dark times have always shed light on those willing to compromise their values to preserve their daily comforts. Neither a French president, a German intellectual, nor an award-winning American newspaper are exempt from being wrong. As a newsroom witnessing the war from inside Ukraine, we want to set the...

On 21 July 2021, United States President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a “Joint Statement of the United States and Germany on Support for Ukraine, European Energy Security, and our Climate Goals” that highlighted the arrangements made between the two leaders for the U.S. to withdraw its opposition to the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The rationale at the time was that the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was inevitable, and the removal of U.S. sanctions that were blocking this highly controversial Kremlin project would not only considerably improve relations between the U.S. and Germany but would also thaw the frigid rapport between the U.S. and Russia...

Yesterday, Yvan Baker, MP (Etobicoke Centre), along with 8 Liberal MPs, sent a letter to the Hon. Mark Holland, Leader of the Government in the House of Com­mons, requesting an urgent Take-Note Debate in the House of Commons on Ukraine and Russia's military buildup on its borders. They also requested the holding of an Emergency Debate on this issue if there is no consensus amongst all parties to hold this debate. “Yesterday, I was proud to be joined by MP colleagues in sending a letter to the Hon. Mark Holland, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, requesting an urgent Take-Note Debate in the House of Commons on Ukraine and Russia's military buildup on its borders. If there is no consensus amongst all parties to hold this debate, we requested the holding of an Emergency Debate on this issue,” said MP Baker. “Recently, Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders along with significant military assets. This further Russian aggression is a major threat not only to Ukraine’s security, but also to that of the rest of Europe, our other allies and to Canada. The situation is critical...

The stage is set. With his country at the centre of multiple international dramas, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ensured that the world will be paying attention when he gives his annual state-of-the-nation speech Wednesday. With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the border with Ukraine, everyone will be looking for clues to what Mr. Putin intends to do with that invasion-sized force. Amid escalating tensions with the West – including a series of recent tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions – leaders around the world will be wondering whether Mr. Putin wants to escalate or defuse that situation. There are also wild rumours that Mr. Putin may make some kind of announcement regarding neighbouring Belarus, where his presidential ally Alexander Lukashenko – facing months of mass protests against his rule – said over the weekend that he had made the...

The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union. We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation of Russia’s continued actions to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Today, seven years after Russia’s illegitimate and illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, we reaffirm our unwavering support for and commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders...