Canada is one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters in the war against
Russia and is set to announce during the visit that it is
sending more weapons to Ukraine, according to a government
official.
"Canada will continue to support Ukraine as long as it takes and
we will always stand firm to defend the rule of law and the
international rules based order," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
told reporters in New York on Thursday.
Zelenskiy is due to address parliament in Ottawa and then hold a
news conference with Trudeau. He spoke to legislators virtually
in March 2022.
Ihor Michalchyshyn, executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian
Congress lobby group, said Canada was influential given its
membership of both the Group of Seven countries and NATO and
noted all Canadian political parties support Ukraine.
"So I think it's appropriate for the president to be expecting
and asking more from his Canadian partners," he said in an
interview. "If friends of Ukraine want Ukraine to win the war,
then the only way that happens is with renewed and more military
support."
There are 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent in Canada, the
third most after Ukraine and Russia.
In Washington, Zelenskiy appealed to U.S. lawmakers on Thursday
for continued support amid Republican doubts over whether
Congress should approve a new round of aid.
Although there are no such divisions in Canada, it does not have
the deep pockets or military reserves of the United States,
Germany and other major backers.
Since the beginning of 2022, Canada has committed over C$8
billion ($5.9 billion) in aid to Ukraine, including over C$1.8
billion in military assistance.
The Canadian government official said the arms deal Trudeau was
likely to announce on Friday would be bigger than the C$33
million Ottawa unveiled on Sunday to help Kyiv buy missile
defenses. The official requested anonymity because the final
details had not yet been agreed.
David Perry, a security analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs
Institute, said he expected Ottawa to offer more combat support
vehicles as well as training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16
fighter jets as part of the arms deal.
($1 = 1.3485 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Deepa Babington)
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