Canada’s Trudeau says Putin responsible for ‘war crimes’

Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for “war crimes“, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said during a surprise visit to Ukraine, while announcing new weapons for Kyiv and imposing new sanctions against Russia.

“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for heinous war crimes,” Trudeau said on Sunday at a news conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He added that “there must be accountability” and that he had “witnessed firsthand the brutality of Russia’s illegal war”.

“Today, I’m announcing more military assistance, drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms, ammunition and other support, including funding for demining operations,” Trudeau said.

“And we’re bringing forward new sanctions on 40 Russian individuals and five entities, oligarchs and close associates of the regime in the defense sector, all of them complicit in Putin’s war.”

The Group of Seven (G7) bloc of nations, of which Canada is a member, announced a new package of sanctions on Sunday and pledged to reduce its dependency on Russian energy, including oil imports.

Canada will also provide $25m to the United Nations’ World Food Programme as part of efforts to uphold food security and remove trade tariffs on all Ukrainian imports to Canada for next year.

Trudeau visited the town of Irpin outside Kyiv, the focal point of fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian troops before the Russians withdrew late in March.

He said Canada was reopening its embassy in the Ukrainian capital.

The visit came as United States First Lady Jill Biden held a surprise Mother’s Day meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart, First Lady Olena Zelenska, to show US support for the embattled nation.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES