For several months, Russia has been pulverizing Ukrainian cities because of the depletion of air defence systems and ammunition to defend Ukraine’s skies, its citizens and infrastructure.
On April 16, Russia murdered seventeen Ukrainian civilians and injured over sixty more in a missile strike on residential areas of Chernihiv. As President Zelenskyy stated, “This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror was also sufficient. Terrorists can destroy lives only when they first manage to intimidate those who are able to stop terror and protect life.”
Trypilska Thermal Power Plant, a critical supplier of energy in central Ukraine, was recently destroyed by Russian bombardment. Barbaric Russian air strikes on Ukrainian civilians continue daily. Every day, Russia kills and injures Ukrainian children, women, and men. Every day, Russia destroys Ukrainian homes.
As Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated, “We are talking about Ukraine reconstruction but we should talk more about avoiding destruction. The best way of spending less on reconstruction is to spend more on avoiding destruction. And Ukrainians do not have the capacity to avoid destruction because, to tell the truth, we should be doing more and quicker in order to allow them to have the capacities they need. It would be cheaper to buy Patriot systems than to rebuild the power plant targeted by the Russians.”
During Federal Budget consultations, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress called on the Government of Canada to:
- Provide Ukraine with more air defence systems and support the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine.
- Substantially increase investment in Canada’s defence sector to provide Ukraine with more weapons including long range artillery, 155 mm shells, tanks, and rockets.
- Implement mechanisms that allow the Government to seize all frozen Russian sovereign, state, and central bank assets and provide these assets to Ukraine.
- Support economic and energy stabilization in Ukraine.
