The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked Canadian elected officials to imagine the city of Vancouver besieged by the Russian army, the CN Tower in Toronto hit by bombs and Montreal fallen into enemy hands, in a poignant speech delivered to the federal Parliament, Tuesday. He took the opportunity to implore Canada to protect his country’s airspace.
“How many cruise missiles will have to fall on our cities before you accept [de protéger l’espace aérien] ? asked the Ukrainian president to Canadian parliamentarians gathered especially for the occasion in the room of the House of Commons, filled to bursting, in Ottawa.
In a 12-minute speech delivered from his bunker and shown on two giant screens in parliament, Volodymyr Zelensky described therussian invasion of his country as an effort to “annihilate” his nation. He thanked Canada for its support, while lamenting that his allies were asking him to “hold on a little longer” without providing him with the aid that would bring the war to an end.
“I know you support Ukraine. We are allies, friends, but I would like you to understand how we feel every day. We want to live. We want to win. We want to win in order to live. »
“The objective is not to declare an international conflict, therefore a Third World War,” said Federal Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly after the event. She says she is in “creative mode” to be able to help equip Ukraine, but has not hinted at any change in her strategy, which is to announce almost daily additional aid to Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia. A fifteen Russian officials additional paid the price on Tuesday.
Consensus on Ukraine, not airspace
Interim Conservative Party leader Candice Bergen took the Ukrainian president’s request to her colleagues in parliament during her own speech on Tuesday. “We must do more with our allies to protect Ukraine’s airspace. The Conservatives are calling for “minimum protection” above the humanitarian corridorswhich serve to evacuate residents of bombed towns.
In interview at Homeworkthe founder of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair in Strategic and Diplomatic Studies at UQAM, Charles-Philippe David, said he saw Mr. Zelensky’s speech as a way to “prepare public opinion” so that Canadians are ” more favorable” to a more active intervention by Canada in this conflict, “if it deteriorates”.
The expert also believes that Canada could support the creation of a “humanitarian air bridge” to distribute food by air to certain cities in Ukraine, such as kyiv. Western countries could also monitor existing humanitarian corridors to ensure their safety, he adds. “Between watching the spectacle of butchery and going to war against Russia, there is a staircase [de mesures que le Canada peut prendre]. »
The leader of Bloc Québécois, Yves Francois Blanchetdoes not require the mobilization of the air force in Ukraine, under the pretext that the Canadian forces are of the level “atom BB”.
Both Mme Bergen and Mr. Blanchet, however, called on Tuesday for more relief from the bureaucratic process surrounding the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Canada. “We must welcome Ukrainians who seek refuge,” also stressed the head of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh.
Canada has already decreed a ban on all imports of Russian oil, imposed significant sanctions on relatives of the Moscow regime and blocked access to funds from its central bank, in particular. At the same time, the country promises to facilitate the reception of Ukrainian refugees and is already helping the local army by sending lethal weapons, such as anti-tank devices.
Mr. Zelensky addressed the British House of Commons last week, and should repeat the experience with American elected officials on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Russian invasion intensifies in Ukraine. three million people fled the country so far, and new airstrikes targeted the capital, Kyiv, on Tuesday.