Mediaboss Marketing

The Trudeau government is extending Canadas military deployment in war-ravaged Ukraine by two more years, a training mission that Russia has previously decried as counterproductive and deplorable.

It comes as the war in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and Russian-backed separatists has escalated, killing more soldiers and civilians and leaving ceasefire agreements in tatters.

The decision by Ottawa to prolong the commitment at the continuing level of 200 troops comes despite past statements by the Liberals about rebooting the relationship with Moscow following poor relations during the Harper era.

Read more: As Russia-U.S. ties strengthen, violence escalates inUkraine

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced the measure Monday.

Asked what message Canada is sending Russia by extending the military mission, Mr. Sajjan replied: We stand by Ukraine.

The defence minister noted that Canada is also preparing to send 450 troops to Latvia as part of a NATO reassurance mission to counter Russian expansionism in the region. Its nearly three years since Moscow seized Ukraines Crimean peninsula and annexed it.

We are sending a very strong message of deterrence, Mr. Sajjan said.

Ukrainian Canadian Congress president Paul Grod applauded the move, calling it a significant gesture of support for Kiev at a time when the fighting in eastern Ukraine has mounted.

He alleged Russia had been pressing the Trudeau government not to prolong the mission.

There was a lot of pressure being put on by the Russian embassy not to do this, Mr. Grod said.

The Ukrainian-Canadian leader said the show of solidarity from Western countries towards Ukraine is a rebuke to Russia.

Why do the Russians care? Its the symbolism that Canada and the United States and Great Britain and some European companies have physical military presence in Ukraine, which Russia views as its sphere of influence and thats why its so offensive to Moscow, he said.

Back in 2015 when the deployment to Ukraine was first announced, the Russian embassy in Canada rejected the mission as unnecessary, saying it would not help in any way the settlement of the internal fratricidal conflict in that country.

Follow Steven Chase on Twitter: @stevenchase

See the rest here:
Liberals extend military mission in Ukraine by two years - The Globe and Mail