Flags of Canada in Ottawa. File photoWASHINGTON, May 17th. Canada has decided to ban the entry of about 1,000 sanctioned Russians, including President Vladimir Putin, in response to events in Ukraine, Marco Mendicino, the North American Public Security Minister, said on Tuesday. to the country for Putin, members of the government and military command of Russia, as well as a number of other persons in connection with a special operation in Ukraine. Under current law, the Canadian government cannot impose such a ban, which is why an initiative was submitted to Parliament, after the approval of which it is planned to amend the so-called «Immigration and Refugee Protection Act».
Canada is ready to help with the removal of Ukrainian grain from European ports» Canada stands with Ukraine in the face of a brutal attack by the Putin government, and we intend to hold Russia accountable for its crimes. That is why we have just announced a ban on the entry of about a thousand Russians, including Putin and members of his entourage,» Mendicino wrote on Twitter. According to him, these individuals are already on the Canadian sanctions lists. «Now they will be denied entry into our country,» the minister said. As the Canadian minister said, in the current circumstances, Ottawa «will continue to support Ukraine in this difficult moment.» Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
