International Development Minister "Harjit Sajjan" said he asked Canadian officials in Ukraine and neighboring countries to ensure that women who have been sexually assaulted by Russian forces receive the help they need, including access to abortions if they wish.

He said that pregnant sexual assault victims who fled from Ukraine to Poland, where abortion is illegal, can be helped to travel elsewhere in Europe.

Sajjan said in an interview with The Canadian Press: "We are well aware of some laws in other European countries, especially Poland, so the ministry is currently working through our partners and exploring how to support these women."

Sajjan said Ukrainian women can come to Canada for care.

He said Canadian officials were working with local organizations that have networks to support women who may be victims of sexual violence.

Canada announced last week it will allocate an additional one million dollars to help the international community investigate sexual crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Julia Kovaliv, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, also warned members of parliament earlier this month that Russia uses sexual violence against women and children as a weapon of war.

A committee of 35 researchers experienced in international law, genocide, and Eastern Europe, chaired by former prosecutor Irwin Cotler, concluded that Russia engaged in incitement to genocide.

Their legal analysis, published by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, concluded that Russia violated the 1948 Genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which it is a party along with 151 other countries.

Cotler said that the countries that signed the convention bear the responsibility to prevent such crimes and hold Russia accountable for its actions.