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20 April 2022, 09:53

Ukrainian MPs invited Canadian deputies to come to Ukraine

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.