Trudeau: Canada to impose sanctions on Russian individuals

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Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stated, on Monday, that Canada will sanction ten people linked to Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine.

During a news conference in London, Trudeau said, “Today, Canada is announcing new sanctions on 10 individuals complicit in this unjustified invasion. This includes former and current senior government officials, oligarchs, and supporters of the Russian leadership.”

The Canadian government revoked special trading status for Russia and Belarus last week, resulting in 35% tariffs.

Canada has recently followed in the US footsteps and banned all transactions with Russia's central bank in an unprecedented draconian package of sanctions aimed at the country.

The moves taken by Europe will make it hard for the Russian central bank to use its hard currency reserves to buy rubles, the value of which collapsed against the dollar and euro on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

Transactions to support the ruble, "will no longer be possible and fortress Russia will be exposed," a senior US administration official told reporters.

The ban is meant "to ensure that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be a strategic failure," Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland claimed.

"Canada is firmly on the side of the heroic resistance of the people of Ukraine and we will continue to take further action to ensure President Putin does not succeed," she said in a statement.

Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk to defend themselves against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the operation is only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and poses no threat to civilians.