OTAWA – Canada is targeting the Russian defense industry with the latest round of sanctions for Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says the new measures impose restrictions on 33 Russian defense entities.
He says the organizations have provided support to the Russian military – directly or indirectly – and are therefore complicit in the pain and suffering of Vladimir Putin’s unjustified war in Ukraine.
The measures introduce asset freezes and bans on listed entities, such as the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Integral SPB and the Shipyard Vympel JSC.
Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 700 people and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus since Russia’s February 24 offensive.
Since the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,100 individuals and entities.
“Canada has always been and will always stand by Ukraine,” Jolie said in a statement.  “Today’s measures are the latest example of our unwavering support for Ukraine and its people.
“We will continue to support the brave men and women who are fighting for their freedom and demand that those responsible for the atrocities be held accountable.”
On Sunday, Russian forces bombed government-controlled Kharkiv and sent reinforcements to Izyum in the southeast in a bid to break Ukraine’s defenses, the Ukrainian military said.
The Russians also continued the siege of Mariupol, a key southern port that was attacked and besieged for much more than a month.
Recently released satellite images of Maxar Technologies showed a 13-kilometer convoy of military vehicles heading south to Donbass, reminiscent of an escort that stalled on the road to Kyiv for weeks before Russia gave up trying to occupy the capital.
In a video late at night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued that Russia’s aggression “was not intended to be limited to Ukraine.”  “The whole European plan is a goal,” he said.
“That is why it is not just a moral duty of all democracies, of all the powers of Europe, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace,” Zelensky said.  “This is, in fact, a defense strategy for any civilized state.”
The Ukrainian leader also thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday.  Zelensky said they discussed “what assistance the UK will provide to the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine”, especially for the reconstruction of the Kiev region.
Ukrainian authorities have blamed Russian forces for war crimes against civilians, including airstrikes on hospitals, a rocket attack that killed 52 people at a train station and other atrocities that came to light as Russian troops withdrew from the area.