Canada this Monday imposed more sanctions against Russia, this time against 23 senior officials for alleged involvement in human rights violations, and on the other hand announced the doubling of the value of its aid to Ukraine. Moscow responded and added 100 Canadians to its list of people banned from entering the country, including author Margaret Atwood, actor Jim Carrey
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this on arrival on the Indonesian island of Bali, where the G20 summit will officially start on Tuesday.
The sanctions announced by Trudeau affect 23 officials of the judiciary and the Russian security forces, from police to judges, prosecutors and prison officials, who are allegedly involved in “flagrant and systematic human rights abuses against opposition leaders in Russia”.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the sanctioned officials were involved in the pursuit of Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,400 Russian individuals and entities.
Trudeau also announced the award of an additional CAD 500 million in military aid to Ukraine, for the purchase of military surveillance and communications equipment, as well as fuel and medical supplies.
This amount is double the amount of aid Canada has given to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, amounting to almost one billion Canadian dollars (about €729 million).
The Canadian Prime Minister stated that “this additional military aid will support the Ukrainians, who continue to fight courageously against the illegal invasion, and that the new sanctions will put more pressure on those who support these acts of war”.
Shortly after Trudeau’s announcement, Moscow announced it had added 100 Canadians to its list of people banned from entering the country, in response to Canada’s sanctions against Russia.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry says that author Margaret Atwood, actor Jim Carrey and also Amy Knight, a KGB historian, are on the banned list.
The ministry indicated that these Canadian citizens were banned for their involvement in “aggressive anti-Russian training (in Canada)”.
Source: DN
