Canadian mission in Ukraine ‘deplorable,’ Russia says

Military trainers will encourage ‘buildup,’ says statement from embassy

OTTAWA— Russia is calling Ottawa’s decision to send 200 military trainers to Ukraine “deplorable” and “counterproductive” to finding a political solution for the conflict.

In a statement, the Russian embassy in Ottawa said the two-year training mission will not help in ending the “fratricidal” conflict between Kyiv and eastern Ukrainian rebels, who are supported by Moscow.

“It would be much more reasonable to concentrate on diplomacy and encourage authorities in Kyiv to finally enter into a genuine political dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk Republics as it was agreed upon in (the) ‘Minsk-2’ accords in February,” the statement read.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday that 200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel will deploy on a noncombat mission in Ukraine for up to two years.

The Canadian troops will join U.S. and British forces training Ukrainian soldiers in a wide variety of skills, including medicine, bomb disposal, and flight safety.

Unlike the noncombat mission in Iraq, which “evolved” and resulted in Canadian troops close to the front lines, Defence Minister Jason Kenney said the trainers will be nowhere near the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern provinces. Instead, they’ll be conducting the training close to the Polish border in western Ukraine.

But the Russians claim Canada’s mission will aid a “military buildup” being pushed by Kyiv that is “neither appropriate, nor helpful.”

A spokesman for the prime minister said “Canada has demonstrated unyielding support for Ukraine in the face of ongoing aggression by the Putin regime.”

“Putin’s failure to end his support to armed rebel groups and his occupation of Ukranian sovereign territory constitutes a real threat to international peace and security,” Stephen Lecce said in an email.

Paul Robinson, an expert on Russia and Russian military history at the University of Ottawa, said he doesn’t believe Canada’s involvement will have any major effects on the political talks between Ukraine and Russia, being brokered in large part by Germany and France.

“The Russian communiqué today is a little stronger language than what’s been said in the past . . . (but) I think that’s generally how they view it: we don’t think it’s helpful, but it’s not something which requires us to escalate in turn,” Robinson said.

Robinson said he suspects that there’s domestic politics in play for all parties — including Canada and Russia — in their response to the conflict.

The conflict is now more than a year old. Since rebels stormed government buildings in Donetsk last April, an estimated 6,000 people have been killed.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Department released heavily censored briefing records that show Canadian diplomats struggled last spring about how to respond to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the growing unrest in Donetsk.

An information memo sent to former foreign affairs minister John Baird and International Trade Minister Ed Fast noted with concern the rapidly deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine. It said development aid or economic assistance required stability in the region.

Even with the fighting in full swing, assistance and diplomacy were still relevant, it said, but they would have to be measured.

“Short-term interventions, if appropriately focused and well-conceived, can buy time on the ground and build momentum for change, but it will not bring the type of dramatic and systemic change necessary,” said the May 8, 2014 briefing, obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information legislation.

Hope for a political solution was rekindled after February’s announcement of a ceasefire, although the partial truce has shown signs of deteriorating recently.

On Monday and Tuesday, six Ukrainian soldiers and one rebel fighter were killed near Donetsk. With files from Star wire services