OTTAWA — As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to depart for Europe on Sunday, Russian forces said they would observe a temporary cease-fire in part of its invasion of Ukraine.
An official in one of the country’s pro-Russia separatist regions said an agreement would allow civilians to evacuate amid continued shelling and the flight of refugees to neighbouring nations.
The head of the military in Russian separatist-held Donetsk said safe passage corridors for residents of the port city of Mariupol and the city of Volnovakha would reopen Sunday, but he did not say for how long nor whether a cease-fire would accompany the evacuation.
The developments unfolded with Trudeau scheduled to depart Canada Sunday morning, ahead of meetings set for Monday with the prime ministers of the Britain and the Netherlands about the intensifying situation.
In the following days, Trudeau is to meet with other leaders in Riga, Latvia, Berlin and Warsaw, Poland. He’s also due to meet with the secretary-general of NATO and with Canadian Armed Forces members during his trip.
The prime minister’s office says he will work with allies on responding to Russia’s military aggression and the humanitarian challenges stemming from the conflict, which has prompted more than a million people to flee Ukraine since late last month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded for a no-fly zone over his country and lashed out at NATO for refusing to impose one, warning that "all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you."
But NATO has refusedxjmtzyw, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear he’d consider such a move a hostile act.
Instead, the alliance of western nations has opted to send weapons and defensive equipment to Ukraine while attacking Russia’s economy.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has been in Europe over the past few days in meetings with NATO and European Commission officials about ongoing efforts to sanction Russia.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 28, 2022 in response to the Ukraine crisis. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
