The leaders of Canada and Italy signed security agreements with Ukraine on Saturday after talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Kyiv marked the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“We continue to support Ukraine in what I have always believed is its people’s just right to defend themselves,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at a news conference.
“This also necessarily means military support, because to confuse the much bandied-about word ‘peace’ with ‘surrender’, as some do, is a hypocritical approach that we will never share,” she said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Ottawa’s support for Kyiv remained “unwavering” two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.Dichiarazioni alla stampa del Presidente @GiorgiaMeloni con il Presidente ucraino @ZelenskyyUa, il Presidente della Commissione Ue @vonderleyen, il Primo Ministro del Belgio @alexanderdecroo e il Primo Ministro del Canada @JustinTrudeau.
— Palazzo_Chigi (@Palazzo_Chigi) February 24, 2024
In diretta da Kiev https://t.co/x2COCz6nOJ
“Today, standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and partners, Canada committed to further assistance, including military and humanitarian support, for Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy told reporters at the news conference that Saturday had been “a unique day for our country.”Despite Russia’s relentless assault, Ukrainians are standing strong. We need to continue standing with them.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 24, 2024
That’s why, today, President @ZelenskyyUa and I signed a historic security agreement. With this agreement, Canada is going to provide Ukraine with more critical military… pic.twitter.com/okQBNhAnte
The two security agreements were signed at the start of a joint news conference with Zelenskyy, Meloni, Trudeau and the leaders of Belgium and the European Union.Our meetings with Italian Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni are always meaningful. Today we have an important result. We signed a bilateral security cooperation agreement between Ukraine and Italy.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2024
This document establishes a solid foundation for our countries' long-term security… pic.twitter.com/sKygvWDrZ6
Trudeau’s office said Canada would provide more than 3 billion Canadian dollars (USD 2.22 bn) in financial and defense aid to Ukraine in 2024.Ukraine is definitely stronger now than it was two years ago. Today, we signed another security agreement, which strengthens the position of our people, particularly our soldiers. This is a strong and timely decision that will significantly strengthen our resilience.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2024
Prime… pic.twitter.com/pkIAk9Jj2Z
Meloni gave no financial details about the Italian accord.