Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasily Bodnar completed a visit to Canada on November 2, where he attended a congress of the Canadian Congress of Ukrainians and met with colleagues from the Canadian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense. He also gave an interview to CBC Broadcasting Company, in which he said that Kiev was ready to “invite” Canadian peacekeepers to Donbass.

“If work in this direction (implementation of the Minsk agreements. - RT ) is not enough or it does not give results, then we will return to plan B, within the framework of which the idea of ​​a peacekeeping operation in the Donbass in Ukraine is being promoted, and then we will ask to take part in it Canada as one of our main allies, ”he said.

In a conversation with Canadian journalists, Bodnar emphasized that he hoped for help from other states in pressure on Russia. Allegedly, precisely the position of Moscow can disrupt the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

“There is no trust in Russia. Russia violated all international agreements that it concluded with Ukraine. She violated her international obligations with regard to Ukraine, - said Bodnar. “We still need the whole world to come together and render assistance in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”

Last ally

A RT source in the party of Vladimir Zelensky's “Servant of the People” noted that this appeal to Canada is connected with a certain “disappointment of Kiev” in its other Western partners.

“Zelensky is disappointed in the policies of France and Germany, whose leadership is showing fatigue from Ukraine. He provoked a scandal in the United States, so it’s stupid to count on the help of Donald Trump. Canada is now one of the few partners that can still support Ukraine, ”the source said.

According to experts, the authorities in Kiev are hoping for the support of a large Ukrainian diaspora.

According to analysts, traditionally strong nationalist sentiments are prevailing in it, since it was precisely in Canada that many participants of the Bandera movement settled, who collaborated with the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. In particular, the grandfather of the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, Khristi Freeland, Mikhail Khomyak, worked during the war in the newspaper Krakivsky Visti, which published anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi propaganda.

“They have already approached France, Germany and the USA. And, as I believe, they haven’t reached much understanding, ”said Cyril Koktysh, associate professor at MGIMO, in an interview with RT. - In Canada there is a powerful Ukrainian diaspora. Here the calculations are quite transparent. Peacekeepers may be the same Ukrainians, but with Canadian passports. But Canada is not a member of either the Norman format or any other formats related to the settlement in the east of Ukraine. ”

  • Canadian military in Ukraine
  • © canada.ca / Aviator Stéphanie Labossière, Joint Task Force-Ukraine

Canadian instructors are currently training the Ukrainian military as part of Operation UNIFIER. To this end, in Ukraine on a rotational basis there is a Canadian army contingent of about 200 people. In March 2019, Ottawa extended the work of the military mission until 2022.

The current leadership of Canada has never explicitly stated that it intends to deploy its peacekeepers in Ukraine. However, in February, the Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, Richard Arbeiter, called on the United Nations to consider supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. According to him, Canada is ready to contribute to this goal.

"Now is the time to seriously consider ways the @UN can support # Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the return to #peace. Canada stands ready to do its part." - Ambassador @ArbeiterRichard 🇨🇦🇺🇳🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/KwfMhhLlc1

- Canada Mission UN (@CanadaUN) February 20, 2019

At the same time, the opposition Conservative Party of Canada has criticized Justin Trudeau's government for its lack of support for Ukraine. Conservatives have repeatedly stated that Ottawa should seek the creation of a peacekeeping force that would be deployed on the Ukrainian-Russian border and lead this mission.

Following Poroshenko

On September 13, at the Yalta European Strategy forum in Kiev, Zelensky announced that he favored the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent on the border of Russia and Ukraine.

“I would be pleased if the peacekeepers were on the border of Ukraine and Russia. Please, we invite them there, ”the Ukrainian president emphasized.

On October 10, Zelensky again told reporters in the framework of the hours-long press conference that, in his opinion, peacekeepers should be deployed on the Ukrainian-Russian border. He noted then that he intends to raise this issue at a possible meeting with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany in the Norman format.

A RT source in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Kiev has plans to deploy peacekeepers from Canada on the Russian border.

“This idea was discussed under President Petro Poroshenko,” a diplomat told RT. - As far as I know, Canada also supported this initiative. Then peacekeepers were offered to place not on the demarcation line, but along the Ukrainian-Russian border. The same model wants to implement and Vladimir Zelensky. As far as I understand, they want to discuss it during the meeting in the Norman format. But the likelihood of this initiative being implemented is extremely small, since Russia is opposing peacekeepers at its border. ”

  • Justin Trudeau and Petro Poroshenko
  • Reuters
  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

Indeed, earlier the idea of ​​a peacekeeping mission on the Ukrainian-Russian border was actively supported by former President Petro Poroshenko. As the CBC television channel emphasizes, the former Ukrainian leader discussed it in 2017 with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Then in an interview with CBC, Petro Poroshenko said that Canada should take part in a peacekeeping mission in the Donbass. Later, he repeatedly raised the topic of the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent in the region in conversations with both Trudeau and Christie Freeland.

Recall that the idea of ​​deploying peacekeepers in the Donbass under the auspices of the UN was put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the proposal of the Russian side, such forces should occupy positions on the line of demarcation between the armies of the people's republics of Donbass and the Armed Forces. Their main task would be to guard the OSCE observation mission.

However, Kiev and Washington opposed, insisting that peacekeepers should be on the border of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR with Russia. In addition, according to the Ukrainian leadership, Russian troops could not take part in such a mission. The implementation of the plan in this version, according to experts, could lead to the blockade of the uncontrolled areas of the Donbass and even to the resumption of full-scale hostilities on the Ukrainian side.

Rewrite Minsk

As Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of the CIS countries, emphasized in an interview with RT, the Ukrainian authorities demonstrate by talking about the introduction of peacekeepers with Russia that they are not going to implement the Minsk agreements.

  • Ukrainian military in the conflict zone in the Donbass
  • Reuters
  • © Gleb Garanich

“The introduction of any troops, even if they call themselves peacekeepers, without the consent of the UN Security Council, is called occupation. Moreover, Canada can in no way be considered as an independent arbiter, ”Zharikhin noted in a conversation with RT. “This is all empty talk, which shows that the Ukrainian side is already openly saying that it is ready to refuse to implement the Minsk agreements.”

A similar point of view is shared by Kirill Koktysh. The political scientist notes that no entry of peacekeepers into the conflict zone is possible without the consent of all parties to the conflict, including the DPR and LPR.

“All this is part of attempts to rewrite the Minsk agreements,” the expert says. - Any peacekeepers are not provided for in the Minsk agreements. In this matter, it is impossible to agree without taking into account the positions of the DPR and LPR, relying solely on the wishes of Ukraine. ”

RT sources in Ukrainian political parties are skeptical about the idea of ​​deploying peacekeepers on the border of Ukraine and Russia.

Such initiatives suggest that Zelensky “does not know what to do,” said a RT source in the Fatherland party.

“Obviously, there is no concrete plan on how to end hostilities. The president personally persuades the nationalists to surrender their weapons. It is not yet possible to implement the Minsk agreements. Now he is trying to bring Canada to the talks. All this looks like a hysterical run in a circle, and not a consistent policy. Therefore, I will not be surprised if there are no Minsk agreements or peacekeepers. Everything may end in complete fiasco, ”says the deputy.

A similar point of view is shared by the source of RT in the European Solidarity Party.

“All these actions have already been taken by Petro Poroshenko, but his initiative with the peacekeepers failed. Zelensky does not offer anything new, but wants to raise the same questions. It looks like an exciting Ukrainian game. Each new president copies the actions of his predecessor. I understand that for Zelensky such negotiations are a new experience. But I won’t be surprised if the heads of Germany, France and Russia refuse to take part in this game, ”the source said.