Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday (22/2) announced the first phase of economic sanctions against Russia. This is a response to Russia's stance in recognizing the sovereignty of the Ukrainian separatist territories in Donetsk and Luhansk as independent territories.
The Trudeau government will ban Canadians from all financial transactions with Luhansk and Donetsk. Canada will also bar its citizens from engaging in purchases of Russian sovereign debt.
Not quite there, Trudeau will also impose sanctions on Russian lawmakers who voted for the decision to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independents.
After this Canada will impose additional sanctions on the two state-backed Russian banks and prevent financial transactions with them.
In addition to Canada, the United States, the European Union, Germany and the United Kingdom have also announced a number of measures that will complicate Russia's financial movement if an invasion does occur.
Not only economic sanctions, Trudeau on Tuesday also gave permission for the deployment of additional troops to Latvia to provide security protection in the region.
"So today, I also authorized the deployment of up to 460 members of the Canadian Armed Forces to Operation Reassurance. This involves more troops to Latvia, as well as the deployment of additional frigates and maritime patrol aircraft," Trudeau said.
For Trudeau, Russia's current move is a clear violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin insisting that the purpose of deploying troops to eastern Ukraine is to maintain peace.
"Make no mistake, this is a further invasion of a sovereign state and it is completely unacceptable. It is not too late for Russia to seek a diplomatic resolution," Trudeau continued.
The Russian-backed separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk broke away from the control of the Ukrainian government in 2014.
On Monday (21/2) the two regions proclaimed themselves independent territories under the names Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic. This declaration was immediately recognized by Russia.
