Russia is looking for reasons to continue and even increase its aggression against Ukraine

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, OTTAWA – Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau also commented on the tensions between Ukraine and Russia. He accused Moscow of seeking a pretext to attack Kiev.

“One of the things we’ve seen is that Russia is looking for reasons to continue and even increase its aggression against Ukraine,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, Wednesday (19/1/2022). Global News.

Taking a stance like the United States (US), Britain and NATO, Trudeau stressed, Canada will support Ukraine. “We look at many different factors when we make decisions about how best to support the Ukrainian people. The bottom line is that we will be there to continue to support the Ukrainian people through different levels and layers of support,” he said.

He did not mention whether Canada will also provide or provide military assistance to Ukraine as well as the UK and the US. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for the military assistance provided to his country. “I would like to personally thank, and President (Joe) Biden and the US government for your support, for military assistance to Ukraine, for increasing this assistance,” Zelensky said while meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kiev on Wednesday.

The Biden administration has announced it will provide Ukraine with an additional $200 million in defensive military assistance. “We are committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs,” a senior State Department official said.

He revealed that the assistance had been approved at the end of December last year. But the Biden administration did refuse to make it public until it was announced on Wednesday. The White House has said that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any time.

Antony Blinken has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose a peaceful path to resolve tensions on the Ukrainian border. Blinken admitted that he still saw Moscow’s intention to launch an aggression against Kiev. “I really, really hope that we can keep this on a diplomatic and peaceful path. But in the end, this will be President Putin’s decision,” Blinken said while speaking at the US Embassy in Kiev.

According to Blinken, Putin still wants to deploy more troops to the Russia-Ukraine border. “We know there are plans to increase that power, even more, in a very short time. It gives President Putin the ability, also in a very short time, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine,” he said.