The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula 24, 2022, Matsuzato said: “I thought Russia might recognize the two breakaway republics of the Donbas, but I was not expecting it would launch a war on the whole country.” We caught up with Matsuzato, who is an expert on the history of the Russian Empire and post-communist politics, to learn about the background of the military aggression, including territorial issues and NATO’s eastward expansion. Recalling the time just before Russia launched its recent assault on Ukraine on Feb. When he visited the region in the summer of 2014 - the time when fighting between Russian-backed rebels (having declared themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic) and the Ukrainian army intensified - he said bullets landed near his hotel. UTokyo Professor Kimitaka Matsuzato of the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, who has been studying Ukrainian politics and has visited the country over the years, went to the Donbas in 2014 and in 2017. The activists are opposed to implementing portions of the Minsk peace agreement, which was supposed to end the fighting between Russia-backed proxies and the Ukrainian army in the country's east.As Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine continues, fighting has been raging in the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country. Several hundred people rallied for the purpose of thanking allied nations for their support. The Ukraine government had asked for defensive weapons, and while the Canadian government says it has not ruled out the possibility, no arms were part of a shipment of supplies that were slated to leave this weekend.Īnand's visit coincided Sunday with a rally in central Kyiv by members of a civil society group that is demanding the Ukrainian government not surrender territory or its ambition for closer ties with Europe. It also intends to provide a package of non-lethal military aid, including flak jackets, metal detectors, binoculars and medical kits, among other things. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week announced a renewal and expansion of the Canadian military training mission in Ukraine, known as Operation Unifier. Johnson is reportedly going to visit eastern Europe next week. Federal government investigating after cyberattack hits Global Affairs.Canada withdrawing families of diplomatic staff in Ukraine as tensions rise.Britain leads one of the alliance's forward battle groups already deployed in Estonia.Ĭanada leads a multinational battle group based in Latvia, but it has not said whether it will reinforce its presence should hostilities erupt in Ukraine. On Saturday, Johnson said the United Kingdom is considering making a major deployment to help strengthen NATO's eastern flank. The western military alliance has been canvassing members and making preparations to bolster defences in nations bordering Ukraine and Belarus, should Moscow opt for military action to end the stalemate, which has seen Russia demanding guarantees of no expansion of NATO membership eastward. It said the embassy remains open for Canadians who need assistance.Īnand's visit with top Ukrainian officials, promised last week after Canada renewed its military training mission in the embattled country, comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged major reinforcements to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should an invasion take place. How Russia's pipeline politics could split the alliance around Ukraine.Canada expands training mission in Ukraine, promises non-lethal aid."As announced earlier this week, Canada will be reinforcing the team at the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, with officials with expertise in areas such as security sector reform, conflict management, democratic reform, consular services and diplomacy," Sunday's statement said. Last Tuesday, the Canadian government said it's withdrawing the family members of diplomatic staff stationed in Ukraine amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion. Meanwhile, Canada will temporarily withdraw non-essential employees and their families from the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on Sunday. She said the assessments helped inform the decision to move Canadian military trainers to locations west of the Dnieper River, which divides Ukraine into two parts. Duration 0:36 Featured VideoCanadian Defence Minister Anita Anand arrived in Ukraine on Sunday and echoed the warnings of western allies about the looming threat of a Russian invasion.Īnand said there is "intelligence that is sound, that there is increasing escalation of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border, including in Belarus," adding that "we believe that Russia has a choice, and that choice is to negotiate with a view to de-escalation" or it will "face severe sanctions and consequences."
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