Canada sending anti-tank weapons systems, ammunition to Ukraine, says Trudeau
CBC
Canada will send a third shipment of lethal weapons to Ukraine as its military continues to fight off better-armed Russian forces, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.
"Yesterday, we announced that we would be sending new shipments of military supplies, including body armour, helmets, gas masks and night vision goggles," Trudeau said. "Today we are announcing that we will be supplying Ukraine with anti-tank weapons systems and upgraded ammunition."
Trudeau said the Canadian Armed Forces will provided airlift support to transport supplies and aid and to participate in other NATO efforts in support of Ukraine.
Ukraine government officials and members of its parliament have been calling on Canada and its allies to deliver more weapons — including guns and anti-aircraft missiles — to keep Russian forces from gaining control of key cities.
After denouncing Russia at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she will travel to Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday to "make sure ultimately the delivery is well done."
"My role in this is to make sure this aid gets in the arms of Ukrainian soldiers that are fighting for their life and fighting for their motherland," said Joly. "That's exactly why I've been able to get an agreement from Poland to make sure that delivery could be done through their borders."
She praised the European Union Sunday for agreeing to ship arms and other aid to Ukraine's military. Germany also reversed its longtime stand on lethal military aid by announcing weapons shipments to Ukraine.
"So we're seeing a strong movement and I'm glad Canada was part of the first countries to send lethal aid because it's important that people are able to defend their lives, their families, their way of living and their motherland," said Joly.
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to send Ukraine $7.8 million worth of lethal equipment, including handguns, machine guns, carbines and ammunition. Up until that point, Canada had been sending shipments of non-lethal supplies, such as mine detectors, medical kits and vests.
Defence Minister Anand tweeted photos of the second delivery on Feb. 22. The images show an Royal Canadian Air Force plane on the tarmac in the dark, its cargo bay lined with black boxes wrapped in plastic. A Ukrainian flag is seen draped on one of the cases.
"This aid was requested by Ukraine, coordinated with NATO allies & is in addition to the $10m of lethal & non-lethal aid that we provided this month," Anand tweeted last week.
On Sunday, Joly announced another $25 million in non-lethal aid for Ukraine, including body armour, helmets, gas masks and night vision gear. The government said it plans to work with Poland to deliver the gear through NATO.
But Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko — who, like many Ukrainians, has said she has armed herself to defend her country — told Canadian media on Friday that Ukraine is fighting the biggest army in Europe and can't survive without more weapons from Canada and its allies.
"Even if we worked and worked for decades, our army would not match that of Russia's in magnitude," said Vasylenko. "So we need assistance to wake up Monday morning in an independent and free Ukraine."
Ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.
The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is "several hundred" and may run into the thousands, the island's top government official told a local broadcaster on Sunday.
In the days since Luigi Mangione was charged with killing the top executive at one of the largest health insurers in America, an untold number of people online have declared him a modern-day hero.
Syrians seeking to chart their own political course, free from outside interference, following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad may be thwarted by the geopolitical ambitions of their neighbours, who already have a foothold in the country, experts say.
It's hard to envision anyone celebrating the shooting death of a doctor. Or, for that matter, a hospital administrator, a pharma employee, an average U.S. politician or voter.
Every night for half of her life, Ghena Ali Mostafa has spent the moments before sleep envisioning what she'd do first if she ever had the chance to step back into the Syrian home she fled as a girl. She imagined herself laying down and pressing her lips to the ground, and melting into a hug from the grandmother she left behind. She thought about her father, who disappeared when she was 13.
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO struggled with deputies and shouted Tuesday while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania, a day after he was arrested at a McDonald's and charged with murder.
Syria's new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.
The three-starred flag representing Syrian rebel groups was hoisted up a pole atop the Syrian embassy in Moscow on Monday — even as Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's brutal dictator, is believed to be in exile in Russia after President Vladimir Putin granted him and his family asylum.
Among the many moments of celebration across Syria on Sunday, the scene at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus may be remembered as one of the most significant.
