Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that he has been pressing his fellow NATO leaders to support lifting long-range weapons restrictions on Ukraine during his meetings at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Ukraine has long been pushing for permission to strike targets deep within Russia with the weapons supplied largely by the U.S., Britain and other allies, despite U.S. President Joe Biden’s concern about provoking Moscow into further escalating the nearly three-year war.
But a growing number of those allies — including Canada — are saying the restrictions are hampering Ukraine’s ability to win the war and force Russia into peace talks.
Trudeau told reporters outside the UN he had “a number of those conversations directly with leaders” during meetings on Monday when asked if he is making progress in growing consensus for the change in policy.
“We need the war to end. We need Ukraine to win this war,” he said.
“That’s why Canada and so many others are so unequivocal about ensuring that Ukraine has the tools to defend itself against this illegal invasion, including diminishing Russia’s capacity to launch further attacks into Ukraine.”
Trudeau said earlier this month that Ukraine should be allowed to strike within Russian territory with western-supplied weapons, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that lifting the long-range weapons restrictions would draw NATO into a direct war with Moscow.
Ukraine and NATO allies have dismissed Putin’s comments as empty threats.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week acknowledged Biden’s concerns about escalation but noted “not everyone around him thinks so.” He said the longer western partners wait to allow the use of long-range missiles, the more tactically obsolete their value will become.
Zelenskyy has included allowing long-range weapons strikes in his long-term victory plan that he is set to present to Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump this week during his trip to the U.S., including at the UN.
Although Ukraine has been able to conduct drone strikes deep inside Russia and has developed its own long-range weapon system, it argues the western-supplied weapons — including U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles — can be used immediately to deter Russian bombardments on Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure.
Zelenskyy addressed s a special meeting of the UN Security Council Tuesday about Russia’s ongoing invasion of his country, where he said Russia “can only be forced into peace.” Zelenskyy is scheduled to speak again to the General Assembly on Wednesday.
Trudeau was scheduled to meet with Zelenskyy privately at the UN Tuesday.
Concerns about Trump
Future U.S. support for Ukraine may be decided in the upcoming U.S. election, where Harris is competing against Trump for the White House. Harris has echoed Biden’s pledge to keep supporting Ukraine until it achieves victory over Russia.
Trump repeatedly declined to say if he wants Ukraine to win the war during a debate against Harris earlier this month, and said during a speech in Georgia on Tuesday that he wants the U.S. to “get out” of the war entirely.
“I think that we’re stuck in that war unless I’m president. I’ll get it done. I’ll get it negotiated, I’ll get out. We gotta get out. Biden says, ‘We will not leave until we win.’ What happens if they win?” Trump said.
Asked Tuesday if he’s concerned about a possible Trump win and its implications for Ukraine, Trudeau said right-wing politicians around the world are getting tempted to “fall victim or to act on Putin’s misinformation and disinformation,” citing the federal Conservatives’ vote against an updated free trade agreement with Ukraine.
“We need to stay strong on Ukraine and on international law, because it’s not just the future of Ukraine that is at play here, it is the future of all democracies,” Trudeau said.
Conservatives have said their vote against the Ukraine trade agreement was based on wording in the text that emphasized Ukrainian support for “carbon pricing.” Ukraine has had a price on carbon emissions since 2012.
The U.S. on Tuesday announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth US$375 million. The aid includes air-to-ground bombs, which have cluster munitions and can be fired by Ukraine’s fighter jets, as well as munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelin and other anti-armor systems, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, bridging systems and other vehicles and military equipment, according to government officials.
The U.S. has provided more than US$56.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russian forces invaded in February 2022. Canada has committed $4.5 billion in military assistance.
Ukrainian and Russian forces are battling in the east, including hand-to-hand combat in the Kharkiv border region where Ukraine has driven Russia out of a huge processing plant in the town of Vovchansk that had been occupied for four months, officials said Tuesday.
At the same time, Ukrainian troops continue to hold ground in Russia’s Kursk region after a daring incursion there last month.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters