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Zelenskyy Visits Canada for First Time since War Started Seeking to Shore Up Support for Ukraine

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, as his wife Olena Zelenska looks on as they arrive at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Ontario, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, as his wife Olena Zelenska looks on as they arrive at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Ontario, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Zelenskyy Visits Canada for First Time since War Started Seeking to Shore Up Support for Ukraine

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, as his wife Olena Zelenska looks on as they arrive at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Ontario, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, as his wife Olena Zelenska looks on as they arrive at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Ontario, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Canadian Parliament on Friday as he continues his efforts to shore up support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy arrived at Ottawa’s airport late Thursday after meeting with US President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said.
Trudeau greeted Zelenskyy and will also speak in Parliament in Ottawa on Friday, The Associated Press said.
It is Zelenskyy’s first visit to Canada since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He previously addressed the Canadian Parliament virtually after the war started.
Zelenskyy and Trudeau are scheduled to go from Ottawa to Toronto to meet with the local Ukrainian community. Canada is home to about 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent, close to 4% of the population.
The Ukrainian president is making the trip after stops at the United Nations and the White House.
Canada's UN ambassador, Bob Rae, said it is important for Zelenskyy to see the extent to which Canada supports Ukraine in the war.
“We have done a lot to help him and we need to do more,” Rae said. “We’re going to continue to do everything we can to support the Ukrainian people."
Canada has provided more than $8.9 billion Canadian (US$6.6 billion) in support to Ukraine in what Trudeau's government calls the highest per-capita direct financial support to Ukraine in the Group of 7 industrial nations.
More than 175,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada since the war started and an additional 700,000 have received approval to come as part of an initiative that supports temporary relocation of those fleeing the war. The initiative allows for an open work permit for three years with pathways to permanent residency and citizenship.
Zelenskyy is facing questions in Washington about the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has helped keep his troops in the fight against Russian forces.
Ukrainian troops are struggling to take back territory that Russia gained over the past year. Their progress in the next month or so before the rains come and the ground turns to mud could be critical in rousing additional global support over the winter.
Zelenskyy made his first official visit to Canada in 2019.

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Russian Missile Attack Forces Ukraine to Shut Down Power Grid

A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russian Missile Attack Forces Ukraine to Shut Down Power Grid

A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Wednesday launched a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas despite freezing winter weather, officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that it launched a strike on “critically important facilities of gas and energy infrastructure that ensure the functioning of Ukraine’s military industrial complex.” It didn't give the target locations or other details.

The barrage came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry vowed a response to what it said was an attack on Russian soil using multiple Western-supplied missiles.

Kyiv hasn't confirmed that attack, though it said Tuesday that it hit an oil refinery and a fuel storage depot, a chemical plant producing ammunition and two anti-aircraft missile systems, in a missile and drone attack that reached around 1,100 kilometers (almost 700 miles) into Russia.

Long-range attacks have been a feature of the nearly three-year war, where on the front line snaking about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from northeast to southern Ukraine, the armies have been engaged in a war of attrition. Russia has been advancing on the battlefield over the past year, though its progress has been slow and costly.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 43 missiles and 74 drones overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. A total of 30 missiles and 47 drones were shot down, and 27 drones failed to reach their target, it said.

The Russian missiles sought out targets from the Lviv region in western Ukraine near Poland to Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine bordering Russia. The state energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in six regions. It often shuts down production during attacks as a precaution.

“The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainians,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.

Electricity supplies resumed to households in some areas by the middle of the day, but Ukrenergo urged customers to avoid using power-hungry electrical appliances.

Russia has repeatedly tried to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, denying the country heat, electricity and running water in an effort to break the Ukrainian spirit. The attacks have also sought to disrupt Ukraine’s defense manufacturing industry.

Last September, the UN refugee agency reported that Ukraine had lost more than an estimated 60% of its energy generation capacity.

Ukrainian authorities try to rebuild their power generation after the attack, though the barrages have eroded production. Western partners have been helping Ukraine rebuild.

“It is the middle of the winter, and Russia’s goal remains unchanged: our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

He urged Western partners to accelerate the delivery to Ukraine of promised air defense weapons, emphasizing that “promises have been made but not yet fully realized.”