Amid the Russian offensive, Canada on Sunday lifted all duties on imports from Ukraine for one year.
The economic relief was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on May 8. “Canada lifts all duties on imports from Ukraine for one year. The economic relief was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on May 8,” tweeted The Kyiv Independent.
Trudeau also announced an additional USD 50 million in military assistance for Ukraine and imposed additional sanctions on Russian individuals and entities for providing indirect or direct support to Russia’s military.
He said, “Today, I’m announcing more military assistance, drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms, ammunition and other support, including funding for demining operations.”
“And we’re bringing forward new sanctions on 40 Russian individuals and five entities, oligarchs, and close associates of the regime in the defense sector, all of them complicit in Putin’s war,” in a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trudeau visited the town of Irpin outside Kyiv, the focal point of fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian troops before the Russians withdrew late in March.
Trudeau also said that Canada will reopen its embassy and provide USD 25 million to the UN’s World Food Program.