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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Evian, France, on June 16 (local time). / Photo courtesy of AFP, Yonhap News Agency

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced fresh, additional sanctions against Russia following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in France on June 16 (local time).

According to a press release from the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Carney held a bilateral meeting with President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, France, The Kyiv Independent and other outlets reported.

To ramp up pressure on Russia to engage in peace negotiations and to support Ukraine at a critical juncture in the war, Prime Minister Carney decided to impose new sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet, energy revenues, defense industry, and disinformation apparatus.

The newly implemented sanctions target a total of 162 entities, individuals, and vessels linked to Russia's war machine.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Carney emphasized that Canada is moving forward with plans to establish a bank aimed at providing multi-year, low-interest financing to bolster Ukraine’s defense, security, and resilience initiatives.

The two leaders also discussed ways to strengthen defense industrial cooperation, particularly in high-tech sectors such as drone production.

By leveraging their respective expertise and strengths, Canada and Ukraine plan to expand defense industry collaboration, which is also expected to create more jobs.

He condemned Russia's recent attack on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Ukrainian capital.

He also highly commended President Zelenskyy for his just and sustained efforts to secure peace for the Ukrainian people.

Canada has provided 2.8 billion Canadian dollars (approximately 3.028 trillion won) in military assistance to Ukraine this year and extended Operation Unifier, the Canadian Armed Forces' mission to train Ukrainian security forces.

To hold Russia accountable, Canada has slapped sanctions on more than 3,400 individuals and entities, as well as over 600 vessels, since 2014.

                                                                                                           Kim Hyun-min