Canada announces plans to provide heavy artillery to Ukraine amid Russian invasion

As the war between Russia and Ukraine has entered the 56th day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to provide heavy artillery to the war-torn nation, Global News reported. Trudeau made the announcement while speaking to reporters in Dalhousie, New Brunswick. He revealed that the recent request of Ukraine to Canada was to facilitate them with heavy artillery weapons. 

Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will be providing heavy artillery to Ukraine and added that more details will follow in the coming days. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stated that he has been in regular touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trudeau highlighted that Ukraine has "fought like heroes" in the past few months and stressed that Ukrainians are not only fighting for themselves but also for the values that are the basis for free democratic societies, as per the Global News report.

He emphasized that the international community needs to ramp up its efforts in supporting Ukraine. It is to mention here that ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada, and its allies have been providing military support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Furthermore, Canada has imposed sanctions against Russia to pressurise Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. 

Canadian PM discusses Ukraine situation with world leaders 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to the US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, Polish President Andrzej Duda, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, UK counterpart Boris Johnson and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on April 19.

During the telephonic conversation, the leaders discussed the current situation in Ukraine and actions needed to support Kyiv against the Russian aggression, according to the statement released by the Canadian government. The leaders criticized Russian war crimes and committed to hold them accountable for their actions. In the telephonic conversation, the leaders recognized the importance of providing financial support to Ukraine and agreed to work closely with each other. 

Canada signs loan agreement with Ukraine 

Last week, the Finance Ministry of Ukraine announced the signing of a 500 million Canadian dollars (₹30,53,04,09,200) loan agreement with Canada. Taking to Twitter, the ministry informed that Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has signed a loan agreement with the Canadian government on providing Ukraine with a loan of 500 million CAD  (₹30,53,04,09,200)  concessional loan. The finance ministry further revealed that the duration of the loan will be for ten years. The Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko expressed gratitude to the Canadian government for their decision of providing a loan to Ukraine. He added, "Canada is once again demonstrating that it is one of the world's leaders and a reliable friend of Ukraine."