Canada bans Belarusian officials from supporting Ukraine invasion

Toronto (Canada), March 17 (EFE) .- Canada on Thursday imposed new sanctions on 22 senior Belarusian officials for supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. NATO

The Canadian Ministry of Defense said the HMCS Halifax warship, originally sent to the Middle East for counter-terrorism duty, will now join NATO’s Operation Resurance in the Baltic Sea, which maintains Russia’s two major naval bases.

Canada already has another warship, the HMCS Montreal, in the Black Sea since the end of January.

The announcement of the HMCS Halifax warship came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a video conference address to the Canadian Parliament.

The Canadian Foreign Ministry on Thursday announced sanctions on senior Belarusian defense officials because they “supported the invasion of Ukraine and allowed Russian forces to use their country as a launch pad.”

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie has said that those authorized to “facilitate and support Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attacks must respond.”

The list includes 22 officers named by Canada who were already executed by the European Union (EU) on March 2 and Deputy Commander of the Belarusian Air Force Dmitry Anatolyevich Mikholov. EFE

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