TORONTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak to the Canadian Parliament on Friday as part of his campaign to bolster support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion.
Zelensky flew into Canada’s capital late Thursday after meetings with US President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington. He spoke at the United Nations’ annual meeting Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also planned to speak to Parliament on Friday, gave Zelensky a warm welcome on the tarmac at Ottawa’s airport.
It is Zelensky’s first visit to Canada since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He previously addressed the Canadian Parliament virtually after the war started.
After their speeches, Zelensky and Trudeau are scheduled to go to Toronto to meet with the local Ukrainian community. Canada is home to about 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent, close to 4 percent of the population.
Canada’s UN ambassador, Bob Rae, said it is important for Zelensky to see the extent to which Canada supports Ukraine in the war.
“We have done a lot to help him and we need to do more,” Rae said. “We’re going to continue to do everything we can to support the Ukrainian people.”
Canada has provided more than $8.9 billion Canadian ($6.6 billion) in support to Ukraine in what Trudeau’s government calls the highest per-capita direct financial support to Ukraine in the Group of 7 industrial nations.
More than 175,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada since the war started and an additional 700,000 have received approval to come as part of an initiative that supports temporary relocation of those fleeing the war. The initiative allows for an open work permit for three years with pathways to permeant residency and citizenship.
Trudeau’s office said Canada has provided $1.8 billion Canadian ($1.3 billion) in military aid, including tanks, artillery, armored vehicles and ammunition.
Zelensky is facing questions in Washington about the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has helped keep his troops in the fight against Russian forces.
Ukrainian troops are struggling to take back territory that Russia gained over the past year. Their progress in the next month or so before the rains come and the ground turns to mud could be critical in rousing additional global support over the winter.
Zelensky made his first official visit to Canada in 2019.
Zelensky to speak before Canadian Parliament in his campaign to shore up support for Ukraine
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Zelensky to speak before Canadian Parliament in his campaign to shore up support for Ukraine
- After their speeches, Zelensky and Trudeau are scheduled to go to Toronto to meet with the local Ukrainian community
- Canada’s UN ambassador, Bob Rae, said it is important for Zelensky to see the extent to which Canada supports Ukraine in the war.
More than 9,000 flights canceled as major winter storm bears down across much of US
- “Dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills are spreading into the area and will remain in place into Monday,” the agency said on X
DALLAS: More than 9,000 flights across the US set to take off over the weekend have been canceled as a major storm expected to wreak havoc across much of the country threatens to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways.
Roughly 140 million people were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England.
The National Weather Service forecast warns of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina.
Forecasters say damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.
Ice and sleet that hit northern Texas overnight were moving toward the central part of the state on Saturday, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said.
“Dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills are spreading into the area and will remain in place into Monday,” the agency said on X.
Low temperatures will be mostly in the single digits for the next few nights, with wind chills as low as minus 24 Celsius.
About 68,000 power outages were reported across the country at 8 a.m. ET, about 27,600 of them in Texas. Snow and sleet continued to fall in Oklahoma.
After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about a foot of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted.
Temperatures reached minus 34 C just before dawn in rural Lewis County and other parts of upstate New York after days of heavy snow.
Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home.
