Federal government commits $32 million for Ukraine’s ‘security and stabilization’

One year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ottawa on Friday pledged $32 million for Ukraine’s ‘security and stabilization’.

In a statement released on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly detailed, “For an entire year, Canada and the international community have rallied like never before to support Ukraine’s resilience in the face of President  Putin’s aggressions…Canada’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is unwavering. We will not stand down until Russia is held accountable for its crimes.”

$7.5 million out of the $32 million is earmarked for demining initiatives, more than $13 million for accountability initiatives, including addressing sexual assault associated with conflict, and more than $12 million to “fight chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear threats”, according to Global Affairs Canada.

Around $9.7 million of the funds had been previously announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for demining and accountability programmes in Ukraine during the G7 Summit in June 2022. When making the announcement, PM Trudeau pledged to Ukraine $151.7 million in assistance, of which the bulk ($75 million) would go towards providing humanitarian aid.

According to Global Affairs, more than $5 billion has been pledged by Ottawa for aid to Ukraine since the invasion last year. $1.2 billion of the $5 billion was pledged towards military assistance, while another  $2.6 billion was pledged towards financial aid. $320 million was pledged by the federal government for humanitarian aid, while $96 million was pledged for development assistance and $73.8 million for security and stabilization programming.