Canada has now decided that it must provide lethal weapons to the Kiev regime, to include machine guns, hand pistols, carbines, and ammunition. “In light of the seriousness of the situation, and following conversations with our Ukrainian partners, I’ve approved the provision of $7.8 million worth of lethal equipment and ammunition,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Monday news conference, reported CBC News. “The intent of this support from Canada and other partners is to deter further Russian aggression.” The government also says it will make a new $500-million loan available to Ukraine after previously announcing a separate $120-million loan in January.
Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told TASS that the Canadian decision will only exacerbate the conflict. “Any weapons supplies to a country that has an unresolved domestic armed conflict are unacceptable. This does not help establish peace and only prolongs and exacerbates the fratricidal conflict in Ukraine,” he pointed out. “By providing weapons, Western countries are pushing the Kiev regime to continue a war against its own people,” the envoy added.
Stepanov emphasized that Russia “calls on the Canadian government to stop such actions and instead use its special influence on the Kiev authorities to bring them to the negotiating table with Donetsk and Lugansk and encourage them to fully and unconditionally implement the Minsk Package of Measures.”
