Carney tells Zelenskyy the 'tide is turning' in war, announces new sanctions against Russia

EVIANS-LES-BAINS, FRANCE – Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that a Ukrainian victory in the four-year conflict is not in doubt.

“The tide is turning as expected in this war,” said Carney, during a bilateral meeting with the Ukrainian leader at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Evian, France.

“Ukraine will win, it’s just a question of time, it’s just a question of how much senseless slaughter Russia perpetrates,” the prime minister added.

Carney said Canada’s new sanctions will target 162 individuals, entities and vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet, which is designed to evade oil sanctions that were imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.

Canada has already levied sanctions against 500 Russian shadow fleet vessels.

The war in Ukraine topped the summit’s agenda on the second day, with a meeting Tuesday morning that included G7 leaders, Zelenskyy and European Union leadership.

On Monday, Russia carried out strikes on the Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv, a designated UNESCO world heritage site.

Carney called the strikes another example of the brutality of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Fresh off a peace deal with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal between Ukraine and Russia could be next. The president said he spoke with Putin on Sunday and had a good meeting with Zelenskyy.

“Russia should make a deal,” said Trump, during a bilateral meeting with Qatar. “Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people and so has Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy also said it was a good meeting on Tuesday.

“I agree with Mark that we [had a] great meeting…and our partners supported our messages,” said Zelenskyy, alongside Carney.

“What we really need [is an] energy package,” he added. “We need air defence, more patriot missiles, and we spoke also about licenses, how to increase production, and I think this is good idea, which was supported today during our meeting.”

Ukraine is seeking licences from the U.S. to produce their own interceptor missiles domestically.

During the bilateral meeting, Zelenskyy also thanked Canada for its ongoing support. The Canadian government has committed $25.5 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, since the war began in 2022. Canada has also given an additional $13 billion in financial assistance towards the country’s economy and development.

Zelenskyy is increasing the pressure on allies to provide more support his country, to maintain its military advantage over Russia. The leader is seeking $20 billion in additional military funding.

However, there is a limit to support that can be provided. Canada, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom recently blocked a NATO proposal to spend 0.25 per cent of GDP on Ukraine military aid.

There is a growing consensus among NATO intelligence that an attack by Russia against one of their members could happen by the end of the decade.

Europe and Canada are attempting grow their respective defence industrial bases, with a commitment by all NATO members to spend five per cent of their GDP on defence spending by 2035.

Carney also held a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, where he announced Canada’s intention to begin negotiations on the purchase of the M-346 advanced jet trainer aircraft, designed by one of Italy’s largest aerospace companies, Leonardo.

National Post

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