Canada urges avoiding non-essential travel to Ukraine due to 'Russian aggression'
The Canadian government is urging its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Ukraine, in a new advisory citing "Russian aggression."
Moscow has stationed more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, and the United States said on Friday it feared Russia was preparing a pretext to invade if diplomacy failed to meet its objectives.
"We have changed the risk level for Ukraine to avoid non-essential travel due to ongoing Russian aggression and military buildup in and around the country," the Canadian government said in a travel advisory issued late Saturday.
Separately, the government recommends that no non-essential travel outside Canada take place due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Canada, with a sizeable and politically influential population of Ukrainian descent, has taken a hard line with Russia since its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is to visit Kyiv next week to reaffirm Canada's support for Ukrainian sovereignty and reinforce efforts to deter "aggressive actions" by Russia, Ottawa said earlier.
Joly will meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and travel to the west of the country to speak to a 200-strong Canadian training mission that has been there since 2015.
Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Morgan and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke on Friday and pledged continued close coordination to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine and called for Russian de-escalation, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.
Russia denies plans to attack Ukraine, but says it could take unspecified military action unless its demands - including a promise by the NATO alliance never to admit Kyiv - are met.
After talks between the United States, its European allies and Russia ended last week, U.S. officials warned that the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remained high.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday and "emphasized that any military incursion into Ukraine would have serious consequences, including co-ordinated sanctions."
Canada has imposed punitive measures on more than 440 individuals and entities over the annexation of Crimea.
With a file from CTVNews.ca staff
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