Canada pledges $5B in seized Russian assets for Ukraine on war anniversary

Canada will send $5 billion in aid to Ukraine using funds from seized Russian assets, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday at a peace and security summit in Kyiv.

Canada will send $5 billion in aid to Ukraine using funds from seized Russian assets, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday at a peace and security summit in Kyiv.

Trudeau and a dozen other world leaders are in the Ukrainian capital to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, where support for Ukraine to end the war on its terms and with its territory intact remained strong.

“This is not a conflict Ukraine wanted, provoked or asked for in any way,” Trudeau said at the summit table.

“This is a war started for one reason and one reason only: Russia‘s desire to erase Ukrainian history and expand their empire.”

Trudeau also pledged 25 additional light armoured vehicles for Ukraine and a grant to help with energy security as Russia attacks the country’s power grid.

Trudeau’s remarks did not touch on Ukraine’s possible membership in the NATO military alliance, which other leaders have been calling for at the ongoing summit.

But he repeated his calls for Kyiv to have a direct role in negotiations for a possible end to the war, as European leaders express dismay at Washington holding talks with Moscow.

“We cannot return to an era where might makes right,” Trudeau said. “We must do everything in our power to enable Ukraine to secure a just and lasting peace, a peace that cannot be achieved without Ukrainians at the table.”