Zelenskiy speaks to Canadian parliament after Justin Trudeau announces training for F-16 fighter pilots
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered an impassioned speech at the Canadian parliament on Friday in which he thanked Canada’s military support to Ukraine, as well as hailed the historic and communal ties between the two countries. “You’re always on the bright side of history … I have no doubt that you will choose the side of freedom and justice,” he said.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is going to make a longer-term, multi-year commitment that provides steady support for Ukraine, including money for 50 armoured vehicles. Canada will give an extra C$650m ($482m) in military aid to Ukraine over the next three years, Trudeau told the Canadian parliament. He will also send F-16 trainers for pilots and maintenance so Ukraine is able to maximise its use of donated fighter jets.
A Russian missile strike on civilian infrastructure in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region of Ukraine killed one person and injured 15 others, governor Dmytro Lunin said on Friday via Telegram. He said one child was among the injured and that Ukrainian air defences downed one of the missiles launched. These claims are yet to be independently verified.
The Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, held a meeting with Russian oil company managers on Friday to discuss the domestic fuel market, the government said. Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.
US president Joe Biden has told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles to help in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, three US officials and a congressional official told NBC News on Friday. The officials did not confirm when the missiles would be delivered and remain anonymous as they have not been authorised to speak on the subject publicly.
A Ukrainian air force spokesperson reportedly said that he had hoped the missile strike on the Russian Black Sea fleet HQ earlier on Friday had left a bigger hole in the building. Air force spokesperson, Yuriy Ignat, speaking on Ukrainian television, said that while he was pleased by the result of the strike, he had hoped the effects would be more dramatic. “I wanted a bigger hole to be honest,” he said.
Ukraine’s military said its forces had “successfully” struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea navy in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Friday. “On 22 September close to 12:00 (0900 GMT) Ukraine’s defence forces successfully struck the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet command in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol,” Ukraine’s military said on Telegram.