At the G20 Summit on Monday in Bali, Indonesia, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he is increasing Canada’s military support to Ukraine by $500 million with no strings attached and adding the names of 23 Russians to its list of sanctioned individuals.
“This additional military assistance will support Ukrainians as they bravely continue to fight against Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion, while these new sanctions will put added pressure on those who support these acts of war,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated that the sanctions were aimed at those responsible for the persecution of Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was imprisoned and charged with spreading false information about the Russian military.
The 23 individuals sanctioned are members of Russia’s justice and security apparatus who, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, were directly involved in “systematic human rights violations against Russian opposition leaders.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada has sanctioned over 1,400 Russian individuals and entities.
The no strings attached $500 million of Canadian taxpayer money, according to the federal government, would be used for fuel, medical supplies, military, surveillance, and communications equipment.
Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, stated that the funds are a portion of the more than $1 billion in military help that Canada has pledged to Ukraine for both military hardware and training programs.
“Ukraine’s military has made incredible progress reclaiming ground and Canada’s military contributions have been integral in their counter-offensive to date,” she said in a statement.
“The $500 million in new military aid announced today will ensure that we continue to meet Ukraine’s military momentum with the military aid that it needs to fight and win.”
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Canada has given Ukraine a total of $3.4 billion of Canadian taxpayer money since February.
There’s still no weapons tracking system for a detailed inventory list of weapons supplied to Ukraine. In July of this year it was reported that military weapons are making their way on to the Ukraine black market and being sold to unknown individuals, terrorist organizations and organized criminal gangs.
