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Nearly a dozen prime ministers have visited Kyiv since Russian forces withdrew from its outskirts, but Canada has not even sent an MP
Publication date:
May 4, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 4 minutes reading • 239 comments British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky walk in the center of Kyiv, April 9, 2022 Photo by the press service of the Ukrainian president
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TOP HISTORY
While Kyiv is teeming with diplomats and world leaders eager to be seen fighting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Canadians are visibly absent from the mix.
It has been nearly a month since Russian forces officially gave up their attempts to seize the Ukrainian capital and instead withdrew to positions in eastern Ukraine. As Kyiv is no longer under direct threat of attack, Ukrainian authorities are hosting an almost constant influx of visiting diplomats offering aid and weapons.
Nearly a dozen prime ministers have been in the Ukrainian capital since early April, most notably the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on April 9.
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On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking US official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion. A week earlier, Ukrainian officials held personal talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is gesturing as he attends a visit on April 28 to Borodyanka, outside Kyiv, where Russian forces are accused of war crimes. Photo by SERGEY SUPINSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
Canada, by contrast, has not sent a single MP to the Ukrainian capital since the invasion, although the House Foreign Affairs Standing Committee – which includes lawmakers from the Liberals, the NDP, conservatives and the Quebec bloc – has recently raised the prospect of arranging a visit.
However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not announced plans to join them. The closest to Trudeau was a March 10 visit to the Polish-Ukrainian border at a time when Russian forces were still occupying the suburbs of Kyiv.
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Canada was one of the first countries to close its embassy in Kyiv before the Russian invasion; diplomats were evacuated on February 12, nearly two weeks before Russian tanks began to cross into Ukrainian territory.
While Canada now plans to reopen its embassy in Kyiv, the decision came only after almost every other NATO country began moving diplomats back to Ukraine. A CBC report found that 27 countries have reopened their Ukrainian diplomatic posts while the remnants of Canada have closed.
The flags of Canada and Australia on the building where their embassies are located in Kyiv, Ukraine. This photo was taken just three weeks before the Russian invasion. Photo by Christopher Ochikone / Bloomberg
One factor that may explain Canada’s absence from Ukraine is that Ottawa has sharply reduced its contribution to Ukrainian military aid in recent weeks. British, American and Polish leaders, among others, stopped in Kyiv after promising huge packages of military aid. Pelosi’s visit, for example, coincided with the announcement of $ 33 billion in aid to the Ukrainian military, including a fleet of helicopters and several thousand Javelin and Stinger missile units.
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While Canada has amassed approximately $ 118 million in military aid to Ukraine since January, it has largely halted a series of recent high-profile arms deliveries designed to arm Ukraine’s offensive against Russia’s remaining positions east and south. Last week, Poland donated more than 200 tanks to Ukraine. Even Germany, which has faced criticism for its reluctance to arm Ukrainian forces, recently approved the supply of heavy armor to the country.
Ottawa’s latest promise to Ukraine was the “number” of M777 howitzers. Although Canada has pledged another $ 500 million in aid in its last federal budget, none of that money has been disbursed.
And the howitzers were promised “in connection” with the United States, which could mean that we will get the Americans to send them, like this M777 air shipment from last month. Photo from the United States Marine Corps / Cpl. Austin Fraley / Distribution
IN OTHER NEWS
There are already six conservatives officially confirmed for the party’s leadership race after three candidates were disqualified (and some, such as Leona Aleslev, withdrew before even applying). Catherine Levescu of the National Post provided a more complete overview of competitors, but here’s a summary:
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- Pierre Poalievre. In the interest of fair coverage of the race, we should probably pretend that Poilievre no longer has the lead. But wow he dominates. Reinforcements, mobs, polls; Poilievre swept them all away.
- Jean Charest. The “politics-focused” candidate. Charest’s main idea is that he can win, in part because he has been in politics longer than many conservative voters have been alive. And as the Liberals’ favorite leader, he is indeed overly attractive.
- Patrick Brown. The mayor of Brampton, who announced his candidacy within hours of winning a defamation lawsuit against CTV, his campaign strategy so far has been to avoid the spotlight and instead speak to absolutely every ethnic media outlet. Many immigrants are voting for conservatives, and Brown seems to be counting on a surprise victory with votes from new Canadians.
- Leslin Lewis. The only veteran of the last campaign to run again is her candidate if you’re looking for some old-fashioned social conservatism, such as measures to discourage abortion (or at least make the Canadian federal government less enthusiastic about abortion).
- Scott Aichison. Probably the least known candidate, Aichison’s claim to fame is that he is the only potential leader who advocates ending supply management. He also echoed Poilievre’s line to drastically increase the size of housing in Canada to limit real estate prices.
- Roman Baber. The candidate who was ousted by the Progressive Conservatives in Ontario for opposing the COVID-19 mandate, you can confidently expect Baber to be the candidate against the mandate. And given how previous Conservative leadership races have taken shape with those like Maxine Bernier and Derek Sloan, Baber is probably the leading candidate to start his own peripheral party immediately if he loses.
He then deleted a tweet from Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford in which he seemed to confuse Sikhs with Muslims. Although it includes images from a recent Sikh Halsa Day celebration, Ford has included the traditional Muslim holiday greeting, Eid Mubarak. Photo from Postmedia File
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