European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen greeted Ukrainian women on Tuesday, on the eve of International Women’s Day, who were banned from fighting before the war but “didn’t care and started to join to the army anyway.”
“It’s not just a war in Ukraine. It’s also a war against human rights and it’s a war against women’s rights,” von der Leyen said, to applause from Canadian lawmakers, citing UN accusations that “Russia uses rape and sexual violence as part of military strategy in Ukraine”.
Ukrainian women are “fighting back,” she declared.
Von der Leyen also called for “unwavering military and economic support” for Ukraine and demanded that Russia “pay for the crime of aggression”, having proposed, in November, the creation of a special court to try war crimes committed in Ukraine. .
The German leader compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Russian president’s territorial ambitions to Nazi Germany and World War II.
“It was German Nazism and fascism that brought death and destruction to Europe and the world. But the allied forces gave us back our freedom. United democracies freed us from dictatorship”, said the president of the European Commission.
Hours earlier, Canada and the EU had reached an agreement to send seven Canadian-made generators to Ukraine, in order to strengthen the country’s electrical infrastructure.
The agreement was reached at a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ursula von der Leyen.
Trudeau announced that Canada will allocate three million dollars (about 2.8 million euros) for the removal of mines in Ukraine.
In addition, Ottawa will extend its training missions for the Armed Forces of Ukraine at least until the fall.
The European Commission president added that the EU’s goal is to train 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of the year.
After the visit to Canada, the person in charge must travel to the United States, where she will be received on Friday by the President of the United States, Joe Biden.
Source: TSF
