Russia on Thursday said it was imposing entry bans on over 600 Canadian nationals, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for what it called, “hostile actions” by the nation’s leadership. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was also among 592 people barred from travelling to Russia in the largely symbolic move.
It formed part of a pattern of Russian retaliation against nations which have provided political and military support to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russia imposed a similar travel ban on hundreds of British members of parliament.
NATO has been ready to support Ukraine for years in the war against Russia, including helping Kyiv to advance from old Soviet-era weapons to modern Western military equipment, the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, as per reports. “We need to be ready for the long term. There is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years,” Stoltenberg told the youth summit in Brussels, adding that NATO allies were preparing to help Ukraine to move on to NATO-standard weapons.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The UN head is all set to meet Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and visit an undisclosed location outside the capital.
Earlier this week, Guterres held a meeting with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, where the two were said to have discussed the possible evacuation of the besieged Azovstal steel complex in the city of Mariupol.