The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU took part
in an online meeting with Canadian Senator Donna Dasko. The meeting was
also attended by Maria Ionova, Lesya Zaburanna, Yevhenia Kravchuk and
Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Yulia Kovaliv.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that the work of the women's delegation
of the Verkhovna Rada in Canada in late March-early April has already
yielded concrete results, in particular, the allocation of additional
financial and military assistance to Ukraine. The Chair of the Committee
and her colleagues support this cooperation for effective
coordination of further efforts.
“Appreciating the assistance that Canada has provided for Ukraine, we need
as soon as possible to spend 500 million Canadian dollars, allocated to
help Ukraine, for military and humanitarian needs”, Ivanna
Klympush-Tsintsadze said after the meeting.
The Chair of the Committee said that during the meeting the deputies
talked about the introduction of additional, even tougher sanctions
against Russia: “We see that Canada has begun to apply additional
individual sanctions, but this process must continue. We are counting on
Canada's leadership in this direction”. Also, according to the Chair
of the Committee, Canada can get involved in the supply of oil and gas to
the European Union so that the EU can finally introduce an embargo on
Russian fossil fuels.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that Canada was among those countries
that recognized the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. There
is also an urgent need to prove that Russia's current crimes in Ukraine
are another act of genocide. Ukraine is counting on Canada's active
participation in this procedure.
During the meeting, the deputies also insisted on the need to raise the
issue of the release of Ukrainian prisoners on the international level, to
involve major international players. “Today, more than 500 women are in
Russian captivity. 42 representatives of Ukrainian local authorities.
Russia kidnaps our children, forcibly deports them to its territories and
then russifies them. It is necessary to use all opportunities to put
pressure on the Russian Federation to stop this criminal practice and
bring our people home”, said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. The Ukrainian
side is also convinced that Russia should be recognized as a country that
sponsors terrorism.
Senator Dasko promised to prepare an appeal to the Government and other
authorities to get involved in resolving these issues and helping Ukraine.
Donna Dasko is a member of three Senate Committees: National Security and
Defense Committee; Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee;
Committee on Transport and Communications. She supported a bill that would
allow the confiscated property of Russian oligarchs in Canada to be
transferred to Ukraine. Donna Dasko is a third-generation Ukrainian. Her
family emigrated to Manitoba from the western part of Ukraine in the early
20th century. On the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine,
Donna Dasko made a statement in the Canadian Senate calling for more
sanctions against the Russian economy, banks and oligarchs' property, and
confiscation of Russian assets in the West. She called for weapons to be
provided for Ukraine's defense and stressed the need to establish a no-fly
zone over Ukraine.
Ukrainian MPs invited Canadian deputies to come to Ukraine. According to
the Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU, such
visits demonstrate moral support for Ukrainians and give a deeper
understanding of the scale of atrocities that Ukraine opposes.