According to a statement published by the British agency "Reuters," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly clarified that her country will impose sanctions on 15 Russian officials who enabled and supported military operations in Ukraine, confirming that these sanctions come to exert additional pressure on Moscow to reverse its course.

The Canadian minister said: "President Putin has chosen to escalate his illegal and unjustified military operations, and he can also choose to end them by withdrawing his forces," in her words.
 

The statement pointed out that "Canada will not hesitate to take further measures if the Russian leadership fails to change its course."

The announcement of the new sanctions comes ahead of the expected virtual speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Canadian parliament at 11:15 AM (1515 GMT).

Canada, like many other Western countries, imposed extensive sanctions on Russia after the start of military operations in Ukraine on February 24, closed its airspace and ports to Russian ships, sent lethal military aid to Ukraine, and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged war crimes by Russian forces.