WASHINGTON, February 25. /TASS/. The Canadian authorities on Friday introduced a large-scale package of sanctions against Russia in light of the anniversary of the start of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. They also provided Ukraine with another military aid. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced that Ottawa has imposed a ban on the export to Russia of certain chemicals used in the production of electronics.
Military aid
The Government of Canada has decided to send four more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukrainian troops. This equipment is already in Poland, where Canadian instructors are teaching Ukrainian crews how to operate these vehicles. Canada will also send 5,000 ammunition to Ukraine, Trudeau said. Earlier it was reported that the Canadian army has 112 Leopard tanks, of which 82 are combat vehicles, and the rest are training and auxiliary.
Economic sanctions
Canada imposed sanctions against 129 Russians, including members of the government, the military, representatives of the military-industrial sector, as well as 63 legal entities, including the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, ministers, employees of the presidential administration, the military and those involved in the production of artillery and weapons used in Ukraine.
As reported on the website of the Canadian Foreign Ministry, a number of Russian enterprises and government agencies have been added to the sanctions lists, in particular the United Russia party, the Main Directorate for Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, the Federation Council, the Federal Service of Financial Monitoring, Rosneftegaz, Uralvagonzavod, the United Machinery Group.
Canada imposed sanctions on the main shareholder of Severstal Alexey Mordashov and his family members.
The sanctions list included the Soviet hockey player, president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) and State Duma deputy Vladislav Tretyak and the world's first female cosmonaut, State Duma deputy Valentina Tereshkova. Restrictions were also introduced against the world's second female cosmonaut, State Duma deputy Svetlana Savitskaya.
In addition, Ottawa imposed sanctions on the wife of Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev Svetlana Medvedeva and his son Ilya, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin.
Reaction of Russian ambassador to Canada
Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov believes that the next round of anti-Russian sanctions by Canada and other Western countries shows the helplessness of the anti-Russian camp, which understands that it is impossible to defeat Russia.
"The sanctions of Canada and Western countries against Russians, government agencies and the business community are meaningless. <...> First of all, they harm the economies and well-being of the peoples of those countries whose governments impose them," the diplomat told TASS. The ambassador considers adding Tretyak, Tereshkova and Savitskaya to the sanctions list a "demonstration of blind Russophobia" by the Canadian authorities.
Stepanov said that such actions by Canada and Western countries "deserve no other political reaction on our part than contemptuous regret. "A practical answer, of course, will follow," the diplomat concluded.