Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. File photoWASHINGTON Jan 27 Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand will visit Latvia and Ukraine in the coming days, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
"Our continued commitment to the operation "Combiner" guarantees the support of the Canadian Armed Forces to the Ukrainian army so that it can defend its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. Minister Anand will visit Latvia and Ukraine in the coming days", Trudeau said at a press conference.
He added that as part of support for Kiev, the Canadian government will soon increase the presence of the country's military personnel in Ukraine by 60 people in addition to the 200 already there. Trudeau added that the number of the Canadian contingent in Ukraine will eventually be increased to 400 people. The Prime Minister of Canada also added that Ottawa intends to continue supplying non-lethal weapons to Kiev, providing support in the fight against cyber attacks and sharing intelligence information. «We will continue to work closely with our partners in Ukraine and throughout the region,» Trudeau concluded. Starting in 2014 NATO countries, led by the United States, supply weapons to Ukraine and train its military, which directly violates the Minsk agreements and negatively affects the settlement in Donbass. In addition to the Americans, Great Britain, Canada, France, Poland, Turkey, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia participate in deliveries totaling billions of dollars. jpg» />Pushilin commented on the possibility of sabotage by Ukraine and NATO in Crimea. The United States supplied Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missile systems, patrol boats, sniper rifles and counter-battery radar stations, the UK — NLAW anti-tank grenade launchers, Turkey — Bayraktar TB2 attack drones. Ukraine and the UK signed a memorandum that provides for the joint design and construction of warships on the territory of the two countries and the construction of two Ukrainian naval bases. In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, which declared independence after the coup in Kiev in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13 thousand people became victims of the conflict. The issue of resolving the situation in Donbass is discussed, in particular, during the meetings of the contact group. However, even after the ceasefire agreements, skirmishes continue, and the DPR has reported shelling residential areas with Ukrainian heavy artillery. media reported