Ukraine decries aid delays
TRUDEAU SIGNS NEW CANADIAN SUPPORT DEAL AS HE ATTACKS ‘WEAKLING’ PUTIN
KYIV, UKRAINE • Delays in promised Western military aid to Ukraine are costing lives, the country’s defence minister said Sunday, a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged new support from Canada and called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “weakling.”
Trudeau joined other world leaders in a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday to sign a new security agreement with the embattled country, including a pledge for $320 million in new military spending by the end of the year.
Saturday marked the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The visit was part of a global campaign to showcase international solidarity with Ukraine in the face of a plodding, bloody conflict that experts say has no end in sight.
Trudeau appeared at Hostomel airport alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. Behind them, the scorched husks of destroyed aircraft and the blackened walls of the airport served as a stark backdrop, a bitter reminder of the invasion’s earliest days.
“Putin was sure he could easily take strategic targets like this airport. Russian forces tried to make quick work of Hostomel airport — and with it, Kyiv,” Trudeau said. “Well, we are standing here today because he was wrong.”
The visit was Trudeau’s third to Ukraine since the war began.
In addition to $320 million in new military spending, which is due by the end of the year, the new support deal calls for Canada to grant $2.4 billion in loans for Ukraine, to be administered through the International Monetary Fund. The loans will be used to repair bombed-out roads, pay essential workers, and allow the Ukrainian government to support its people who are living through war, Trudeau said.
The prime minister also announced $75 million to help finance the country’s demining efforts and intelligence gathering.
Despite similar sentiments from across the global coalition of support, European countries are struggling to find enough stocks to send to Kyiv, while $60 billion worth of U.S. help is stalled over political differences.
Trudeau has also attracted criticism for failing to deliver all the military aid Canada has promised.
Defence Minister Bill Blair, who accompanied Trudeau to Ukraine, was asked by reporters for an update on the delivery of an air-defence system Canada pledged to donate more than a year ago but has not provided.
Blair said he did not have a timeline for delivery and that Canada was looking for other ways to help.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustan Umerov said on Sunday that half of all Western military support promised to Ukraine fails to arrive on time, complicating the task of military planners and costing Ukrainian lives.
Speaking at a forum in Kyiv, Umerov said each delayed aid shipment means Ukrainian troop losses and underscored Russia’s superior military might.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later told attendees at the event that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. It was the first time that Kyiv has confirmed the number of its losses.
Commemorations to mark the second anniversary of the war on Saturday brought expressions of continued supports from Ukraine’s Western allies. But Umerov said that they still needed to deliver on their commitments if Ukraine is to have any chance of holding out against Russia.
After the forum Sunday, Zelenskyy said four brigades did not take part in the country’s counteroffensive against Russian forces because they hadn’t received the equipment they were expecting.
The Ukrainian leader also confirmed plans for an international peace summit to tackle issues exacerbated by the war, such as nuclear or food security, in Switzerland in 2024. That would be followed by a potential invitation to Russian representatives to attend a second summit later in the year. However, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not submit to a peace plan that did not serve its interests, and discarded the idea of direct negotiations.
“Is it possible to talk to a man who kills his opponents?” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking Saturday, Trudeau accused Putin of “executing” Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died unexpectedly a week ago in an Arctic penal colony.
“I think we know, we’ve seen, repeatedly, the extent to which any opposition in Russia is either marginalized or, quite frankly, executed,” Trudeau said. “What happened to Alexei Navalny demonstrates that for all that Putin pretends to be strong, he’s actually a coward.”