Canada Will Match Donations for Ukraine up to $30 Million, Trudeau Says

What's left of Mariupol Hospital after an attack, in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9, 2022, in this image taken from video provided by the Mariupol City Council. Mariupol City Council via AP

Canada will match individual donations made to the Canadian Red Cross in support of Ukraine up to $30 million, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday while visiting Poland.

Trudeau said this was being done “because Canadians have been so incredibly generous in being concerned about the people of Ukraine.”

Canada’s original commitment was to match donations up to $10 million.

The Canadian Red Cross says that its Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal has collected $59 million as of March 10, not including the matching funds from the government.

The NGO has already committed $45 million of those funds to the International Red Cross response, with funds being used to provide assistance such as medical supplies, psychosocial support, food, water, and shelter.

The prime minister also said $50 million out of the $100 million promised in humanitarian aid has been allocated to organizations like the World Food Program and Save the Children.

Trudeau made the announcements during a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose country is seeing a massive influx of Ukrainian refugees.

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates the number of people fleeing Ukraine is over 2.3 million since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, and reports say over a million have entered Poland.

Poland was involved in a controversy earlier this week when it said it would be responding to Ukraine’s call for fighter jets by offering its aging Russian-made MiGs to the United States in exchange for being replenished by U.S.-made fighters, with the intent being that the MiGs would then be provided to Ukraine.

The Pentagon rejected the offer, saying Poland’s proposal was not “tenable.”

Such support would likely not be tolerated by Russia and risk expanding the conflict outside Ukraine.

Despite the limited nature of military support that Western countries can provide Ukraine, Trudeau said Russian President Vladimir Putin will lose the war, having made a “terrible mistake.”

“He’s going to lose this war because the ferocity and strength and resolve of the Ukrainian people defending their territory is inspiring us all,” he said.

He added that “it is very clear that [Putin] has made the choice to specifically target civilians now.”

Trudeau mentioned at the opening of his remarks the bombardment of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, which reportedly killed three people and injured 17.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the claim the hospital was targeted on purpose, saying “Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets,” Reuters reported.

On March 9, a Canadian official addressed the issue of Russia targeting civilians during a meeting of the House of Commons National Defence Committee.

“What we have seen is that humanitarian corridors have been targeted, whether [it’s] intentional or not, it’s where we have a gap in intelligence,” said Kevin Hamilton, director general of international security policy at Global Affairs Canada.

In an initiative led by the UK, 38 countries, including Canada and Poland, have joined together to file a referral to the International Criminal Court calling for an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes.

Poland was the last stop of Trudeau’s European visit, with other stops in Germany, Latvia, and the United Kingdom.