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Demonstrative embrace: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the visit of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Photo: IMAGO/Frank Gunn / IMAGO/ZUMA Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked for new military aid from Ottawa after the visit of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Above all, the delivery of artillery ammunition of caliber 155 is important, he said on Saturday in his daily video address. He also praised Canada's commitment to an international coalition to help Ukraine procure Western fighter jets.

Canada also supports Ukraine in "becoming a NATO member as soon as the conditions are in place. Ukraine and Canada look forward to discussing these issues at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023," said a joint statement adopted after the talks.

Trudeau received long-lasting applause for his roughly 25-minute speech in the Ukrainian parliament. During his visit, for example, he announced the continuation of a training program for Ukrainian pilots. In total, Canada's new armaments package amounts to the equivalent of around 350 million euros.

Zelensky contradicts Moscow

Ukraine sees the meaning of international relations in give and take, Zelensky said. Therefore, Kiev is also ready to help Canada fight the forest fires, if such support is needed. At the same time, Zelensky once again called on international aid organizations to get involved after the tsunami in southern Ukraine as a result of the destruction of the dam on the territory occupied by Russia. On the right bank of the Dnipro, controlled by Kiev, 3000,<> people have now been brought to safety from the masses of water. In the Russian-controlled area, however, people received no real help from Moscow, Zelensky said.

He only touched on the situation at the front in passing against the backdrop of heavy fighting in the south of the country. While he confirmed the start of Ukrainian counterattacks along the front, he declined to say "at what stage they are." At the same time, Zelensky contradicted Russian President Vladimir Putin. He had claimed on Friday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had begun, but missed the goals he had set himself. "I thank all those who hold their positions and who push forward," Zelenskyy said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that he would like to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin again soon. He hasn't done this for a while, Scholz said at the Protestant Kirchentag in Nuremberg. "I plan to do this again in the near future," he adds. Putin must understand that Russia must withdraw its troops. He himself was not against negotiations, but the decisive factor was "who with whom and about what," said the Chancellor.

"It is not reasonable to force Ukraine to sanction and accept the raid that Putin has made and that part of Ukrainian territory simply becomes Russia," Scholz emphasized to great applause. He will continue to ensure that the war does not turn into a conflict between NATO and Russia, because this would have "terrible consequences for the whole world".

ktz/dpa/Reuters