The committee met to study the situation in Ukraine, hearing from H.E. Andrii Plakhotniuk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada; H.E. Jocelyn Kinnear, Director General of the Ukraine Task Force at Global Affairs Canada; and Eric Laporte, Acting Director General of the International Security Policy and Strategic Affairs Bureau at Global Affairs Canada.
Ambassador Plakhotniuk thanked Canada for its leadership, noting it was the first to deliver macro-financial support and Leopard 2 tanks, and has trained over 46,000 Ukrainian troops. He reported that Russia has destroyed over 50% of Ukraine's energy capacity, requiring $68 billion to restore, and that urgent needs include energy restoration, gas to survive winter, and air defence systems like Patriot missiles. He asked Canada to renew a House motion condemning the kidnapping of Ukrainian children, to consider new assistance packages of at least the same size as last year, and to impose additional sanctions on nuclear energy, defence production, and the financial sector. He disagreed with any suggestion that international pressure on Russia is sufficient, stating that 20,000 children remain abducted and that Russia shows no desire for genuine negotiations.
Ms. Kinnear outlined Canada's nearly $22 billion in commitments to Ukraine since 2022, including $396 million in humanitarian aid, $12.3 billion in financial assistance, and $6.5 billion in military aid. She highlighted Canada's role in co-launching the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children, which has grown to 44 members, and in funding AI-driven open-source intelligence to locate victims. She noted that sanctions have not collapsed Russia's economy but have caused inflation and forced it to draw down its sovereign wealth fund, and that Canada is working with G7 partners to counter evasion, including through a shadow fleet task force. On governance, she stressed that Canada supports decentralization and civil society strengthening, and that the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies will be an important test for EU accession.
Mr. Laporte confirmed that Canada is considering scalable options for Operation Unifier, including potentially putting troops on the ground in Ukraine if required, as part of ongoing coalition discussions. He stated that Canada is aware of foreign soldiers fighting for Russia, such as North Korean troops, and that Canada has imposed strong sanctions on North Korea. On disinformation, he noted that Canada works with G7 partners through the rapid response mechanism and with NATO and EU allies to counter Russian tactics. Regarding China's role, he said Canada points out the contradiction between China's stated principles of territorial integrity and its financial and military component support for Russia.
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