Ukraine 'grateful' to Canada for demining support: Premier

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday that Canada has pledged an additional 7.5 million Canadian dollars ($5.6 million) for demining efforts in the country.

“I am grateful to my Canadian colleagues for their attention to demining, which is a fundamental element of reconstruction. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced an additional 7.5 million Canadian dollars ($5.6 million) for these needs,” Shmyhal said in a message on Telegram.

Noting that this contribution will bring Canada's total assistance for demining to 22.5 million Canadian dollars ($16,8 million), the premier said the country has taken “a number of progressive steps in support of Ukraine, which have become a model for other countries.”

Joly made a surprise visit to Kyiv, where she met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials, including Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, and the President’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak.

In a statement on Thursday, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said Joly "discussed the ways in which Canada can best support Ukraine to ensure it is in a position of strength in pursuing peace and is able to rebuild according to its vision for the future, while the perpetrators of the war’s horrific violence are held to account for their crimes."

She announced $21.2 million to support organizations working on improving the response to conflict-related sexual violence, pursuing accountability through Ukrainian and international institutions and effectively demining Ukraine.

“Ukraine and Canada are more than friends, we are family. On this third visit to the country, we have borne witness not only to the devastation caused by President Putin’s callous attacks on civilian infrastructure but also to the unrelenting strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people," the minister said. "Canada will continue to support them on the path toward peace and pursue accountability for the horrific crimes being committed across Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Since Russia’s war on Ukraine last February, Canada has committed over $5 billion in multifaceted support to Ukraine.​​​​ It has also imposed sanctions on a number of individuals and entities from and in Russia and Belarus.