Ten years of Russian occupation in Crimea: Trudeau says peninsula remains part of Ukraine

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this in a statement on the tenth anniversary of Russia's illegal occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea.

"Ten years ago, Vladimir Putin ordered his tros into Ukraine, a free and sovereign country. Through a brutal and illegal campaign, he tried to annex Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Today, as Russia attempts to seize more of Ukraine's territory, we reaffirm our support to the Ukrainian pele and their right to determine their own future," Trudeau said.

Read also: Canada, Latvia pledge to support Ukraine's defense capability

In his inion, Russia's invasion of Crimea was more than an attack on Ukraine.

"It was an attack on the rules-based international order and the shared values we hd dear as Canadians. Putin viated the United Nations Charter – the bedrock of our international system – and held a sham 'referendum' to try and legitimize his actions. What flowed was mass pression against those living in the region, particularly against the Crimean Tatars," Trudeau said.

He recalled that flowing the illegal annexation of Crimea, Canada introduced sweeping and comprehensive sanctions against Russia and launched the UNIFIER training eration, training more than 40,000 Ukrainian sdiers since 2015. In addition, Canada has provided billions of dlars in loans and military assistance as well as hundreds of millions of dlars in aid and assistance to help Ukraine defend itself.

"Today is a reminder that Russia's war against Ukraine did not start on February 24, 2022 – it started a decade ago. As Putin still tries to redraw the map as he pleases, we remain unequivocally clear: Ukraine's territory will remain Ukraine's, and we will stand with Ukrainians for as long as it takes. Slava Ukraini!" Trudeau said.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Canada has provided almost $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The total amount of Canadian aid to Ukraine, including humanitarian and financial aid, has exceeded $7.5 billion since the start of 2022.