Ukrainian president urges West to cool rhetoric on Russia
Even as Russian warships carried out target practice in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to cool its rhetoric about a potential invasion, saying that it's putting his country's economy at risk.
"We should have no panic. We have a powerful army," he told reporters on Friday.
These statements appear to clash with the U.S. President Joe Biden on the assessment of the security threat. In a call on Thursday, Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart there was "a distinct possibility" of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
When asked about Zelensky's remarks urging the West to tone it down, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stood by the administration's messaging, noting the presence of more than 100,000 troops at Ukraine's borders.
"It’s a dangerous situation. And we’ve been saying for over a week that Russia could invade at any time," she said on Friday. "This has been our message, and we’ve been really consistent."
Biden also told reporters on Friday that he plans on moving some U.S. troops to NATO allies in Eastern Europe "in the near term."
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov again rejected that claim, insisting Moscow doesn't want a war but is prepared to launch one. Lavov said Russia will respond if it can't get security guarantees from Europe, but didn't elaborate on how
Zelensky also criticized several countries, including Canada, for withdrawing families of diplomats working at their embassies.
"I think it was a mistake," he said. "I think embassy employees should be here."
NATO on Friday threatened again to slap severe economic sanctions on Russia if it invades. Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's secretary general, told CTV News Channel's Power Play that Ukraine’s military has more muscle and backing than it did eight years ago, when Russia annexed Crimea.
“The Ukrainian army will actually be able to defend themselves and defend Ukraine in a totally different way than they were in 2014," he said. "Ukraine has of course the right to self-defence."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday announced that Canada would be extending Operation UNIFIER in Ukraine and will continue to send Canadian soldiers to train Ukrainian armed forces and the national guard, a move praised by Stoltenberg.
“Canada is one of the lead countries in NATO when it comes to providing support for Ukraine and you have been that for a very long time,” he said. “There are not many other countries at the equal level of efforts, doing as much as Canada.”
However, the NATO chief dodged questions about whether Canada should provide Ukraine weapons as other NATO countries have.
"Different allies have different positions on that. What Canada does makes a huge difference already," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Online diary: Buffalo gunman plotted attack for months
The white gunman accused of massacring 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket wrote as far back as November about staging a livestreamed attack on African Americans, practiced shooting from his car and travelled hours from his home in March to scout out the store, according to detailed diary entries he appears to have posted online.
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre denounces 'white replacement theory'
Pierre Poilievre is denouncing the 'white replacement theory' believed to be a motive for a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., as 'ugly and disgusting hate-mongering.'
Top 6 moments from the 2022 Ontario election debate
Ontario’s four main party leaders were relatively civil as they spared at Monday night’s televised election debate in Toronto.
'Great for all of Alberta': Flames, Oilers prepare for battle in second round
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk weren't even born the last time the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they still understand how much the Battle of Alberta means to fans of both teams.
Rising cost of living worries Canadians, defines Ontario election
The rising cost of living is worrying Canadians and defining the Ontario election as prices go up on everything from groceries to gas.
Ukraine mounts effort to rescue last of the Mariupol steel mill fighters
Efforts were underway Tuesday to rescue the last of the defenders inside the Azovstal steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol after Ukrainian officials said the fighters had 'completed their mission' and there was no way to free the plant by military means.
Attacking schools, Russia deals a blow to Ukraine's future
The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled more than 1,000 schools, destroying 95. Intentionally attacking schools and other civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Experts say wide-scale wreckage can be used as evidence of Russian intent, and to refute claims that schools were simply collateral damage.
Half of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 still experiencing at least one symptom two years later: study
Half of those hospitalized with COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic are still experiencing at least one symptom two years later, a new study suggests.
What we know so far about the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting
A former police officer, the 86-year-old mother of Buffalo's former fire commissioner, and a grandmother who fed the needy for decades were among those killed in a racist attack by a gunman on Saturday in a Buffalo grocery store. Three people were also wounded.
Canada
-
Top 6 moments from the 2022 Ontario election debate
Ontario’s four main party leaders were relatively civil as they spared at Monday night’s televised election debate in Toronto.
-
Kenney visits Washington, pushing stronger energy ties between Alberta and U.S.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney begins his two-day blitz in Washington today, hoping to convince U.S. lawmakers his province is best positioned to strengthen North American energy security.
-
Ontario driver who killed woman and three daughters sentenced to 17 years in prison
A driver who struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters nearly two years ago 'gambled with other people's lives' when he took the wheel, an Ontario judge said Monday in sentencing him to 17 years behind bars.
-
'Absolutely disgusting': Team leader critical of RCMP mental health support after N.S. shooting
The RCMP's treatment of their tactical team in the days following the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia was characterized as "absolutely disgusting" Monday during testimony before the public inquiry examining the killings.
-
Documents show a pattern of human rights abuses against gender diverse prisoners
Facing daily instances of violence and abuse, gender diverse people in the Canadian prison system say they are forced to take measures into their own hands to secure their safety.
-
Canada Day celebrations moving from Parliament Hill
The Canada Day main stage will be at LeBreton Flats park just west of downtown Ottawa this year, not on Parliament Hill.
World
-
Ukraine mounts effort to rescue last of the Mariupol steel mill fighters
Efforts were underway Tuesday to rescue the last of the defenders inside the Azovstal steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol after Ukrainian officials said the fighters had 'completed their mission' and there was no way to free the plant by military means.
-
White 'replacement theory' fuels racist attacks
A racist ideology seeping from the internet's fringes into the mainstream is being investigated as a motivating factor in the supermarket shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York. Most of the victims were Black.
-
Attacking schools, Russia deals a blow to Ukraine's future
The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled more than 1,000 schools, destroying 95. Intentionally attacking schools and other civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Experts say wide-scale wreckage can be used as evidence of Russian intent, and to refute claims that schools were simply collateral damage.
-
'Copycat' mass shootings becoming deadlier, experts warn after Buffalo attack
An 18-year-old white man suspected of fatally shooting 10 people in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, appears to be the latest in a line of 'copycat' gunmen carrying out deadlier mass shootings inspired by previous attackers, experts warned.
-
Europe accused of 'double-standard' on Ukrainian refugees
The quick acceptance of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's aggression puts a spotlight on Europe's 'double standard' for migrants, standing against its nonwelcome for people fleeing violence in Africa, the Mideast and elsewhere, the head of the world's largest humanitarian network said Monday.
-
North Korea reports another surge in fevers amid COVID crisis
North Korea on Tuesday reported another large jump in illnesses believed to be COVID-19 and encouraged good health habits as a mass outbreak spreads through its unvaccinated population and military officers were deployed to distribute medicine.
Politics
-
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre denounces 'white replacement theory'
Pierre Poilievre is denouncing the 'white replacement theory' believed to be a motive for a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., as 'ugly and disgusting hate-mongering.'
-
Federal commitments still outstanding, nearly a year since first residential school burial site discovery
Almost a year since the first reported discovery of a burial site at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, the federal government provided an update on the promises it has made since to 'lift up the truth,' many of which are still a work in progress.
-
Canada prepared to send ships to Romanian ports to help export Ukraine's wheat: Joly
Canada is poised to send cargo ships to ports in Romania and neighbouring countries to help Ukraine get its wheat to Africa and the Middle East, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Monday.
Health
-
U.S. reaches deal to reopen shuttered baby formula plant
U.S. officials on Monday reached an agreement to allow baby formula maker Abbott to restart its largest domestic factory, though it will be two months or more before any new products ship from the site to help alleviate the national shortage facing parents.
-
First patient in Quebec gets approval from Health Canada for magic mushroom therapy
In Montreal, a pioneering clinic in the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is about to become the first health-care facility in Quebec to legally treat depression with psilocybin.
-
FDA announces it will make it easier to import some baby formulas to ease shortage
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it is making it easier to import certain infant formulas as it works to address a nationwide shortage.
Sci-Tech
-
Total lunar eclipse creates dazzling 'blood moon'
The moon glowed red on Sunday night and the early hours of Monday, after a total lunar eclipse that saw the sun, Earth and moon form a straight line in the night sky.
-
Whale shark study finds collisions with large vessels may be factor in population decline
A new study out of the United Kingdom is pointing to collisions with large marine vessels as a possible reason for the years-long decline in whale shark populations.
-
Musk hints at paying less for Twitter than his US$44B offer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave the strongest hint yet Monday that he would like to pay less for Twitter than his US$44 billion offer made last month.
Entertainment
-
Juno Awards celebrate Avril Lavigne, Deborah Cox and host Simu Liu's many talents
Sunday night's Juno Awards, hosted by 'Shang-Chi' star Simu Liu, honoured Canadian artists such as Avril Lavigne and Montreal singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin
-
Amber Heard says she feared she would not survive Johnny Depp marriage
'Aquaman' actor Amber Heard told jurors in a defamation case on Monday that she filed for divorce from Johnny Depp in 2016 because she worried she would not survive physical abuse by him.
-
Machine Gun Kelly dedicates Billboard Music Awards performance to his 'wife' and 'unborn child'
Was Machine Gun Kelly trying to tell us something? During his performance of the song 'Twin Flame' at Sunday's 2022 Billboard Music Awards, Kelly said 'I wrote this song for my wife.'
Business
-
Rising cost of living worries Canadians, defines Ontario election
The rising cost of living is worrying Canadians and defining the Ontario election as prices go up on everything from groceries to gas.
-
De-Arching: McDonald's to sell Russia business, exit country
McDonald's is closing its doors in Russia, ending an era of optimism and increasing the country's isolation over its war in Ukraine.
-
Asian shares advance despite losses on Wall Street
Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday after another wobbly day extended a losing streak on Wall Street.
Lifestyle
-
Quebec teen breaks national record for fastest Rubik's cube solve while blindfolded
A Quebec teen has broken a national record for the fastest time to solve a Rubik's cube while wearing a blindfold.
-
Ontario retiree buys 'cheapest home in the GTA'. This is what she got
A retiree in Ontario has just purchased what is being called the 'cheapest home in the GTA'—a caboose located on a commercially zoned parking lot near Milton.
-
Potted plant 'performs' music at Indigenous art gallery on Vancouver Island
When Rande Cook first spotted the potted plant, he 'hired' it on the spot. There was something about the snake plant that seemed to speak to him.
Sports
-
'Great for all of Alberta': Flames, Oilers prepare for battle in second round
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk weren't even born the last time the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they still understand how much the Battle of Alberta means to fans of both teams.
-
No. 2 Medvedev back on ATP tour after Wimbledon ban
Watching the recent news from Ukraine is 'very upsetting,' No. 2-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev said Sunday of the war that led Wimbledon organizers to ban him and other Russians from their tournament.
-
English soccer player Jake Daniels says he is gay
English soccer player Jake Daniels said he is gay on Monday in a trailblazing moment for the European men's game.
Autos
-
Renault sells Russia's Avtovaz stake, but leaves room for return
Renault will sell its majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz to a Russian science institute, the French carmaker said on Monday, adding that the deal included a six-year option to buy back the stake.
-
Leclerc crashes Lauda's historic F1 Ferrari in Monaco
Formula One championship leader Charles Leclerc again crashed in hometown Monaco, this time in a historic Ferrari.
-
Saudi man charged after Maserati driven down Rome's Spanish Steps
A man who this week drove his rented Maserati down Rome's Spanish Steps now faces charges for allegedly causing damage to the landmark, according to police in the Italian capital.
