Prime Minister Mark Carney landed in Warsaw on Saturday for a trip that was announced as being to Warsaw, Berlin, and Riga, when early Sunday morning, he turned up in Kyiv for Ukraine’s Independence Day, along with defence minister David McGuinty. (Photos here). There is a bit of symbolism here because Canada was the first western nation to recognize Ukraine’s independence after it broke away from the Soviet Union. Carney laid a wreath at Ukraine’s national memorial alongside president Zelenskyy and his wife, and also had meetings that included Ukraine’s new prime minister.
Carney announced a new $2 billion aid package for Ukraine—new tranches of supplies of military aid, medical equipment, arms; purchases of items prioritised by NATO including US-made equipment, munitions, and air defence capabilities; drone-counter-drone and electronic warfare equipment; armoured vehicles, as well as more ammunition procured through the Czech process. Carney also said that he was not ruling out Canadian troops being part of any security guarantees if a ceasefire is achieved (not that it’s likely to happen).
Here is a broader look at Canada’s contributions to Ukraine. AP has some photos from Ukraine’s independence in 1991, as well as photos from around Europe to mark this Independence Day.
Ukraine Dispatch
Russia captured two settlements in Donetsk on Friday, and another one in Dnipropetrovsk on Sunday. A Ukrainian drone struck the fuel terminal of Russian nuclear power plant, as we also learned that the US has been restricting the use of long-range missiles against Russia. There was a prisoner exchange on Sunday of 146 prisoners of war on both sides.
Good reads:
- Mandy Gull-Masty says her office is reviewing the Human Rights Tribunal order around restarting talks around First Nations child welfare cases.
- Canada has only two women peacekeepers currently deployed, representing a major step back from prior commitments to women, peace and security.
- This has been the second-worst wildfire season, and has a major impact on the livelihoods of hunters and trappers, the majority of whom are First Nations.
- There has been silence from the Carney government on whether to move ahead with any changes to laws regarding HIV non-disclosure.
- Kevin Carmichael talks to Justine Hendricks, head of Farm Credit Canada, about the agrifood sector and trying to drive investment and innovation.
- Shannon Proudfoot listens again to that podcast interview with Jenni Byrne, and the narrative that Byrne was weaving about how flawless things were for her campaign.
Odds and ends:
Ottawa’s Pride parade was cancelled because it was being held hostage by pro-Palestinian protesters making ludicrous demands. (Notice how only Pride parades ever get held hostage by outside groups?)
Mantra for our current times.
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-08-23T16:57:18.267Z
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