Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is imposing more severe sanctions on Russia in response to its military strike against Ukraine.The new sanctions will target 62 people and entities connected to Russia, including members of that country’s elite and their families, the paramilitary organization known as the Wagner Group and major Russian banks.
The sanctions, announced today after Trudeau attended a virtual G7 meeting, will also affect members of the Russian Security Council, including key cabinet ministers.Canada is also cancelling existing export permits for Russia and will not issue new ones.Trudeau also says the federal government will be prioritizing immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada and is launching a dedicated telephone line for anyone who has any urgent questions about immigrating from Ukraine.He says Canada has arranged for the safe passage of any Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families still in Ukraine through land borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.
Trudeau says he has spoken with Ukraine’s president and assured him that Canada continues to stand with the Ukrainian people.A presidential adviser says Ukraine has lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site to Russian forces after a fierce battle.The site of the world’s worst nuclear accident is just 130-kilometres north of Kyiv.The Russian Defence Ministry is confirming its ground forces moved into Ukraine from Crimea and claims it has destroyed 83 Ukrainian military facilities.A spokesman says forces are advancing toward Kherson, which sits on a reservoir that provided most of the fresh water for Crimea until Ukraine cut it off with a dam in response to Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.
More coming.