On Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, thanked to Canada for its aid in the battle against Russia, stating that Canadian aid had helped save thousands of lives.
Zelenskyy delivered his remarks in a speech to the Parliament in Canada, where the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Ukrainian defense against the Russian attack of February 2022.
Since the start of 2022, Ottawa has pledged over C$8 billion ($5.9 billion) in assistance to Kyiv, including over C$1.8 billion in military aid.
Following marking his first visit to Canada since the beginning of the war, Zelenskyy said, “The support of Canada for Ukraine with weapons and equipment has allowed us to save thousands of lives. Canadian leadership in sanctions against Russia for this battle and panic encouraged others in the world to follow your lead.”
Although a counterattack by the forces of Ukraine to reclaim territory occupied by Russian armies has bogged down, Zelenskyy repeated statements from the previous month in which he expected to win.
Zelenskyy said, “So that Russia will never bring back genocide to Ukraine, and will never attempt to do so, Russia must lose once and for all, and it will lose.”
The Canadian PM said Canada would be providing an extra C$650 million in military assistance over three years to provide Kyiv with 50 armored vehicles. Ottawa would also send trainers to assist Ukraine’s pilots on Western F-16 fighter jets.
Canada will deliver what Trudeau called substantial macroeconomic aid in 2024, but he provided no details.
He told a joint news conference, “Canadian aid for Ukraine is unequivocal and always will be. Ukraine is standing up and battling and dying for the regulations and established order that protects all of us. It is in Canadians’ interests to assure that Ukraine wins this battle.”
