Canada PM sees war-scarred Kyiv suburb during Ukraine visit

According to the mayor of Irpin, where Russian forces are accused of atrocities against residents, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the town on Sunday.

Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn posted pictures on an official social media channel with pictures of Trudeau writing that the Canadian prime minister “came to Irpin to see with his own eyes all the horror that the Russian occupiers had done to our city.”

Trudeau’s office confirmed the visit saying that, “The prime minister is in Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky and reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people.”

Markushyn said that the Canadian prime minister had been given a tour of the suburb that was badly damaged by Russian forces in the early stages of their invasion launched in late February.

“He saw — not military facilities — but burned and completely destroyed homes of Irpin residents, who until recently enjoyed life and had their own plans for the future,” the mayor said.

Several Western political leaders including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have recently visited Irpin and other residential areas around the capital Kyiv where Russian forces were accused of killing hundreds of civilians.

Trudeau’s visit came on the same day US First Lady Jill Biden made an unannounced trip to Ukraine.

Trudeau was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, who together also hoisted the maple leaf flag at Canada’s mission in Kyiv.

The embassy had been shuttered in February when diplomatic staff moved to Lviv and then to Poland. Joly this week had told reporters it would be reopened “in the coming days.”

Trudeau was supposed to meet with Zelensky later in the tour. Both were also scheduled to participate in an online G7 meeting to discuss the Ukraine crisis.