‘Significant breakthrough’ from allies amid Ukraine’s push through ‘darkness’: deputy PM

Despite high spirits, the suffering and losses Ukraine has endured have been extremely “serious” and there are ways Canada and other allies can help, Olga Stefanishyna said.

Although Ukraine has seen a “significant breakthrough” in support from allies, more help is needed from countries like Canada, according to one of Ukraine’s deputy prime ministers, Olga Stefanishyna.

When Stefanishyna, who is deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, first landed in Canada, the first thing she says she noticed was the amount of light that surrounded her.

“This is not what we have,” she told The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson. “We’ve gotten used to living in darkness.”

Stefanishyna, who is visiting Canada to speak with politicians about the current security situation and needs in Ukraine at the Halifax International Security Forum, said around 40 per cent of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure has been damaged by Russia.

However, despite what Stefanishyna described as mass torturing and missile attacks across the nation, “the major spirit in Ukraine is there is no way to surrender.”

“There’s only (the) way to victory and this leads to a permanent failure of the Russian Federation,” she said.

Despite high spirits, the suffering and losses Ukraine has endured have been extremely “serious” and there are more ways Canada and other allies can help, she said.

Supporting restoration of the electricity grid is needed to help bring back power to Ukraine, according to Stefanishyna.