A Statement by Camada’s Prime Minister to mark 10 years since Russia’s Illegal Occupation And Attempted Annexation of the Ukrainian Territory of Crimea
Posted March 16th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today (this March 16th) issued the following statement to mark 10 years since Russia’s illegal occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea:
“Ten years ago, Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, a free and sovereign country. Through a brutal and illegal campaign, he tried to annex Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
“Today, as Russia attempts to seize more of Ukraine’s territory, we reaffirm our support to the Ukrainian people and their right to determine their own future.
“Russia’s invasion of Crimea was more than an attack on Ukraine – it was an attack on the rules-based international order and the shared values we hold dear as Canadians. Putin violated the United Nations Charter – the bedrock of our international system – and held a sham ‘referendum’ to try and legitimize his actions.
“What followed was mass oppression against those living in the region, particularly against the Crimean Tatars.
“Canada was there for Ukraine in 2014, and we’re still there for Ukraine today.We have imposed sweeping and comprehensive sanctions against Putin and his enablers. Under Operation UNIFIER <https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-unifier.html>, Canada has trained over 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers since 2015.
We have provided billions of dollars in loans and military assistance as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and assistance to help Ukraine defend itself. And just last month, we signed a historic new bilateral security co-operation agreement, committing over $3 billion in critical military and financial support to Ukraine for this year.
Through Ukraine’s Crimea Platform, we are also making sure that the de-occupation of Crimea remains a key priority for the international community.
“Today is a reminder that Russia’s war against Ukraine did not start on February 24, 2022 – it started a decade ago. As Putin still tries to redraw the map as he pleases, we remain unequivocally clear: Ukraine’s territory will remain Ukraine’s, and we will stand with Ukrainians for as long as it takes.
“Slava Ukraini!” – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
A Brief Footnote from Doug Draper at Niagara at Large – Meanwhile, in the twilight zone of today’s hyper-partisan Canadian politics, Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives, like their Trump Republican counterparts in the United States, are opposing key measures that support Ukraine. Most recently, in the case of Canadian support for Ukraine, the federal Conservatives overwhelmingly opposed an updated Canada-Ukraine Trade Agreement on baseless charges – openly rejected by at lease one senior Ukrainian official – that the Trudeau Liberals were using the agreement to force a carbon tax on the Ukrainian people.
For more on that and the false claim the Conservatives used to vote against the trade agreement, click on the links below –
What was behind that Conservative vote against the Ukraine trade deal? | CBC News
You can also watch a CBC report on matters related to Canada’s support for Ukraine by click on the screen below –
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