On April 20, Trudeau, speaking to members of the media from a home in Kitchener, was asked if he was aware of Canadians who left for Ukraine and who are said to be currently fighting in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, and if assistance would be given to any who are captured.
“We … know that a number of Canadians have chosen to go and fight alongside Ukrainians, either because of their own Ukrainian heritage or because they want to help stand up for democracy against this illegal Russian invasion,” said Trudeau. “There are no active forces being deployed in Ukraine, obviously, but there are certainly individual citizens who have chosen to contribute. We will always be there to try to help Canadians, but what we said from the very beginning was Canadians should be leaving Ukraine because we’re going to be very limited in our capacity to help them if things go wrong.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
News reports recently surfaced of Canadian volunteer fighters possibly under siege inside a steel mill in Mariupol, which has been the target of a Russian military offensive in recent days. One report said there may be as many as 400 Canadians of the roughly 2,500 holed up in the plant, while another said some Canadians may have already been captured.
The attack on Mariupol comes as Russian forces push to occupy Ukraine’s Donbas region by attacking a 480-kilometre stretch of land.
On April 19, Trudeau said Canada would beef up its contributions to Ukraine defences by sending heavy artillery. But during his April 20 presser, Trudeau was mum when asked for specifics around when this military aid is expected to arrive in Ukraine.
“I think that people understand that the delivery of military equipment in the context of an illegal war by Russia is something that we have to be a little bit careful about what we broadcast and publicize in what we’re doing, but in the coming days I certainly hope to be able to share more about what is being sent and what was sent. But I can reassure Canadians that we are directly responding to the top requests that the Ukrainians have given for assistance in this current phase of the war.”
Since the war began in late February, Canada, as well as other countries, has also placed sanctions on Russia and individuals and entities connected to the Kremlin. Canada’s economic sanctions includes export bans, asset freezes and dealings prohibitions.
Recently, western leaders accused Russia of committing war crimes following the killing of unarmed civilians outside the capital of Kyiv.
As of April 19, as many as 4.9 million people had fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Canada recently announced it was lengthening its list of those it will sanction for having ties to the Russian government, including two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier in April, both the U.S. and European Union had also placed sanctions on Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova in efforts to stop Putin from shielding his assets by funnelling them to family members.
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See here for free access to Law360’s coverage of the war in Ukraine.