The World is On the Brink of the Third World War.
It was once said by Pope Francis that, “Wars are always madness: All is lost in war, all is to be gained in peace.” In this quote, it is made clear that war is not the solution to our problems, rather it will only cause more, such as the demise and fall of society. Throughout the past month, Russian authorities have prepared their military along the Ukrainian border for what is believed to be an invasion and was soon confirmed to be an invasion. In a televised speech, President of Russia, Vladimir Putin said a military operation in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region is to take place. This area is home to many Russian speaking Ukrainians and parts of it has been occupied and run by Russian backed rebel groups since 2014. President Putin said Russia was intervening as an act of self defense and to save the people of Ukraine from their government’s so-called genocide on Russian citizens.
An aircraft was shot down over the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv after two explosions were heard in the city, according to Reuters. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said scores of people have been killed after Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, in a video message late Thursday. Ukraine has banned male citizens 18-60 years of age from leaving the country, according to the State Border Guard Service.
The United States, EU, Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan have imposed many sanctions on Russia due to their actions and threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty. The United States has stipulated any institution in Russia’s financial services sector is a target for further sanctions. More than 80 percent of Russia’s daily foreign exchange transactions and half its trade are conducted in US dollars. Two of Russia’s state owned banks, VEB and Promsvyazbank, were blocked from trading in its debt on US and European markets. The two Russian banks are considered especially close to the Kremlin and Russia’s military, with more than $80bn in assets. The United Kingdom announced sanctions against five Russian banks and three Russian billionaires. German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz announced the halting of the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline from Russia, which was a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow but criticised by the US, worth $11.6 billion, the project is owned by Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom. The 27 members of the EU unanimously announced initial sanctions would be brought onto the 351 Russian politicians that recognized two separatists' regions in Ukraine and limit Moscow’s access to capital and financial markets from Europe.
Recently the Canadian Government had also announced their sanctions, which are targeting 58 individuals and entities, including members of the Russian elite and their family members, as well as the paramilitary organization known as the Wagner Group, and major Russian banks. Canada also plans to sanction members of the RSC, or Russian security Council, including all types of members. And lastly, the Canadian government has also ceased all export permits for Russia for both permits existing in the present and future.
Even though the Canadian Government is standing up for Ukraine, many politicians in Canada believe that the government is not doing enough, recently, Pierre Poilievre, a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership said he is urging Canada to do the following:
Deliver the weapons needed by Ukraine
Impose sanctions on top Russian officials and entities
Impose punishing sectoral sanctions against Russia’s main sources of revenue; energy and natural resources.
Replace Russia gas in Europe by fasting tracking development of the Canadian LNG.
Welcoming more and more Ukrainian refugees to Canada fleeing due to the Russian invasions.
Pierre here is creating a meaningful and aggressive approach to the situation that makes Canada look stronger on the international stage but also creates jobs via Canadian LNG fast tracking. Overall, this should not be a politicized issue, rather one where we come together, and democratic countries can help protect the sovereignty of the independent state of Ukraine.
