Canadians slow to return to Ukraine's capital

As Kyiv swarms with diplomats and world leaders eager to be seen throwing in their lot with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Canadians are proving to be conspicuously absent from the mix.

It's been nearly a month since Russian forces officially abandoned their attempts to take the Ukrainian capital, instead withdrawing to positions in Ukraine's east. With Kyiv no longer under the direct threat of attack, Ukrainian officials have been hosting a near-constant stream of visiting diplomats bearing offers of aid and weapons.

Nearly a dozen prime ministers have been to the Ukrainian capital since early April, most notably U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who made a surprise visit to Kyiv on April 9.

On Sunday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The week prior, Ukrainian officials held in-person talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Canada, by contrast, hasn't sent a single MP to the Ukraine capital since the invasion, although the House of Commons standing committee on foreign affairs — which includes Liberal, NDP, Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs — has recently raised the prospect of organizing a visit.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not announced any plans to join them.

The closest Trudeau has come was a March 10 visit to the Polish-Ukrainian border at a time when Russian forces still occupied the Kyiv suburbs.

Canada was one of the first countries to close its Kyiv embassy in advance of the Russian invasion; diplomats were evacuated on Feb. 12, nearly two weeks before Russian tanks began crossing into Ukrainian territory.

While Canada is now planning to reopen its Kyiv embassy, that decision came only after virtually every other NATO country started moving diplomats back into Ukraine. A report by CBC found that 27 nations have reopened their Ukrainian diplomatic posts while Canada's remains shuttered.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is particularly known for her close personal ties to Ukraine. As the daughter of a Ukrainian immigrant to Canada, Freeland speaks the language and even owns property in Kyiv.

One factor that might explain Canada's absence from Ukraine is that Ottawa has heavily dialed back its contributions to Ukrainian military aid in recent weeks.

British, U.S. and Polish leaders, among others, all dropped in on Kyiv after promising massive packages of military aid.

Pelosi's visit, for instance, coincided with the announcement of US$33 billion in aid for the Ukrainian military, including a fleet of helicopters and several thousand units of Javelin and Stinger missiles.