Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surprised many with his unannounced weekend visit to Ukraine for a personal meeting with President Vladimir Zelensky.
Although government officials managed to keep the trip a secret, it still took weeks of planning, according to a number of senior Canadian government sources who told CBC News how it all came together.
CBC News does not name the sources because they are not authorized to speak publicly on these issues.
Sources said Trudeau told his staff he wanted to go to Ukraine to show solidarity with the country and its people as they continue to oppose the odds against invading Russian forces. Trudeau also said he wanted to see the devastation caused by Russia with his own eyes.
Canada’s absence from Ukraine was noted in the diplomatic community. After many other Western leaders have made the dangerous transition to the military zone in recent weeks, pressure on Canada has intensified to make its own gesture.
To prepare for a possible trip, PMO staff contacted international colleagues who had completed similar trips to find out what those experiences were.
Sources said the PMO had contacted officials at the offices of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Von der Leyen was one of the first European leaders to visit Ukraine after the invasion; she traveled to Kyiv to meet with President Zelensky on April 8. She also toured a mass grave in the suburbs of Bucha, where investigators continue to gather evidence of alleged Russian war crimes.
In this image provided by the press center of the Ukrainian president, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walk during their meeting in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday, April 9, 2022 (Office of the President of Ukraine / Associated Press)
Prime Minister Johnson visited Kyiv for a personal meeting with President Zelensky on April 9.
Sources said that based on these talks, PMO officials have identified two key factors they will need to calm down before planning the prime minister’s trip to Ukraine.
The first factor was security: although Trudeau will travel with his security detail, the entire delegation will be in the hands of the Ukrainian military.
Secret missions, security risks
The second had to do with secrecy or lack thereof: once Trudeau arrived in Ukraine, it would no longer be possible to keep the trip confidential.
The routine practice of planning a world leader’s visit to a dangerous place is to keep the trip a secret until the leader leaves this high-risk environment.
For example, as US President Donald Trump made a surprise visit to US troops in Afghanistan for Thanksgiving in 2019. Journalists had to keep the trip confidential to protect Trump.
In 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau paid a surprise visit to members of the Canadian military crew participating in the UN mission in Mali.
The PMO knew that there was a risk that Trudeau’s trip to Kyiv would be reported in real time, which posed an additional security risk. Prime Minister Johnson’s visit to Ukraine was unexpectedly revealed on social media during his meeting with President Zelensky.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press office of the President of Ukraine / Distribution / Reuters)
The trip to Ukraine by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was also revealed unexpectedly some time ago, when President Zelensky announced that he would meet with the US delegation during a press conference the night before their planned visit.
Trudeau’s visit was a closely guarded secret. Canadian media, including CBC News, were not informed of Trudeau’s trip until after he left Canada, provided it was not announced until it was made public.
The prime minister and his delegation left Ottawa on Saturday morning aboard an Airbus CC-150 of the Canadian Air Force for an eight-hour flight to Rzeszow in southeastern Poland. From there, said a senior government source, they took a train to Kyiv’s central railway station. Once in Ukraine, they traveled in a convoy of two dozen vehicles, including a police escort and an ambulance.
The small Trudeau delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Christia Freeland, Foreign Secretary Melanie Jolie, National Security and Intelligence Adviser Jody Thomas, Chief of Staff Katie Telford, Deputy Chief of Staff Brian Clow and photographer Adam Scotty.
JTF2 on board
A senior Canadian government source, speaking to CBC News on confidentiality, confirmed that the delegation was accompanied by Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command – an elite counter-terrorism unit. services and special intelligence.
The trip was made when the news broke; uncharacteristically, the prime minister travels without Canadian media entourage. Reporters from the local news organizations were not given any details about Trudeau’s route, and it was officially said that the Ukrainians were responsible for security and the visit as a whole.
But a senior Ukrainian official speaking in the background told CBC News that Trudeau’s trip to Irpen to visit the shattered community was organized directly by Canadians through Ukraine’s interior ministry. Both local and international media were aware of the details and were able to capture the moment.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrive for a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 8, 2022 (Valentin Ogirenko / Reuters)
The embargo was eventually lifted when photos of Trudeau’s visit to Irpen – badly damaged by Russia’s attempt to take the capital Kyiv at the start of the war – were posted on social media by the city’s mayor, who met with the prime minister.
Back in Ottawa, when the photos began circulating on Twitter, Trudeau’s communications director, Cameron Ahmad, issued a statement confirming the trip.
A senior source said the decision to travel had changed just before he left due to the changing nature of security in a military zone. The source said the team must be agile and prepared to adapt.
One source said there was no specific reason to travel to Ukraine on that particular date. Much of the coordination depended on Ukrainian officials having the time and resources to receive a delegation, the source said.
Trudeau’s visit came on the same day as the G7 countries were to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trudeau and Zelensky sat together in Kyiv for a one-hour virtual conversation with G7 leaders.
Trudeau’s trip coincided with other high-profile visits by US First Lady Jill Biden and Bono and The Edge of rock band U2.
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