441-01073 (Foreign affairs)

Canada remains unwavering in its commitment to employ all appropriate means to respond to Russia’s actions, including war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, Canada has used a broad range of tools to respond to Russia’s actions. Canada has imposed an unprecedented number of severe and hard-hitting sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Under the Special Economic Measures Act, Canada has sanctioned over 2,000 individuals and entities in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, as well as imposed numerous measures to increase economic pressure on the Putin regime and its allies, since 2014. These measures include strong dealings prohibitions, import and export prohibitions on a variety of goods and services, as well as denying Russian ships access to Canadian waters and ports.

In addition to sanctions, Canada has also imposed other measures, including removing Most Favoured Nation Status and denying access to Canadian airspace to aircraft operated by or for the benefit of persons connected with the Russian Federation or Belarus.

Canada has been steadfast in its commitment to support Ukraine’s security and resilience and to hold Russia accountable for its atrocities and crimes. This includes advocating for, and providing tangible support to, international and domestic Ukraine accountability efforts, including the investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Commission of Inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council, and expert investigations under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism. Canada increased the number of RCMP deployments to 10 officers to support the ICC’s investigations, and are providing $2 million to an ICC Trust Fund to increase the Court’s capacity to investigate sexual and gender based crimes and crimes against children. Canada has also allocated $9.7 million to improve accountability for human rights violations in Ukraine, with a particular emphasis on cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

On December 7, 2022, Canada and the Netherlands jointly intervened in Ukraine’s case against Russia at the International Court of Justice, which seeks to establish that Russia has no lawful basis to take military action in Ukraine on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations of genocide. In addition, Canada recently joined the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine (ACA) alongside the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. The ACA will directly support the efforts of the War Crimes Units of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to document, preserve, and analyze evidence of war crimes and other atrocities committed in Ukraine, to ensure those responsible are held accountable.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has stated that that what is happening in Ukraine are war crimes and crimes against humanity and has regularly rebutted Russia’s false claims.

Canada will continue work with its allies to respond to hold Russia accountable for its actions and support the people of Ukraine.