Trudeau to chair cabinet committee on Ukraine

OTTAWA — Canada will send $25 million in defensive equipment to help Ukraine defend against an invasion by Russia.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says the equipment includes helmets, body armour, gas masks and night-vision gear.

The first military flight carrying the equipment was expected to leave for Europe today.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was scheduled to chair a meeting of the incident response group, a cabinet committee, on the situation in Ukraine today.

He was also expected to participate in a meeting hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden along with leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and NATO, to discuss the situation.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra kicked off Canada’s latest round of sanctions against Russia on Sunday by announcing a ban on all Russian aircraft and operators in retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack neighbouring Ukraine.