Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine working off-site in Kyiv due to security concerns

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raise the flag over the Canadian embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/CBC News/Pool/Murray Brewster

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the flag over the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv in May and announced it was reopening for business.

But nearly three months on, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine is not back at her old desk, and is instead working at another location in Kyiv with her staff for security reasons.

“Security concerns remain ongoing and therefore the ambassador and staff work off-site in Kyiv to ensure their safety,” said Jason Kung, a Global Affairs Canada spokesman.

Re-establishing a diplomatic presence in the capital has allowed Canada to work closely with Ukraine to support the country against Russia’s illegal invasion and address problems such as food insecurity, as well as war crimes investigations, he said.

Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine in late February, launched a missile attack on the Kyiv area for the first time in weeks Thursday.

Russia fired six missiles from the Black Sea, hitting a military unit in the village of Liutizh on the outskirts of the capital, according to Oleksii Hromov, a senior Ukrainian official.

The attack ruined one building and damaged two others, he said, wounding 15 people, including civilians.

In June, Russian missiles hit a nine-storey residential building and a kindergarten compound in central Kyiv, killing one person and wounding six more, according to Ukrainian officials.

Trudeau made a surprise visit to Kyiv in May with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza, announcing the embassy’s reopening following a temporary closure.

Raising the Canadian flag above the Kostelna Street site, he said the ambassador would be back at her post within days.

This week the iron gates of the embassy were shut and padlocked with a sign saying it has “suspended its operations due to the security situation.”

Earlier this month Canada’s visa application centre in Lviv reopened for biometrics appointments to help people in Ukraine apply for visas to Canada.

However, consular and immigration services are being provided from Poland and other European countries “until further notice” Kung said.

“We continue to assess the assignment of personnel in Kyiv and look forward to gradually restoring Canada’s full diplomatic presence and services, as soon as possible.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2022.

— With files from The Associated Press

Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press