Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says she raised Canada’s concerns about corruption during her meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has recently shaken up his government amid corruption allegations.
Joly said she raised the issue several times during her visit to Ukraine over the past two days, including during meetings with Zelenskyy and other top officials.
In addition to speaking to Zelenskyy, Joly said she has also raised the issue of corruption with the president’s top adviser, as well as Ukraine’s prosecutor general and Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, who oversees the country’s police forces.
“[Canada is] very pleased with the fact that while they are focused on defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity, that they’re able to continue these democratic reforms and do this crackdown on corruption,” Joly said.
“We will continue to push Ukraine for democratic reforms.”
Canadian Aid
Canada has since committed over $5 billion in various forms of support to Ukraine, including over $2.6 billion in assistance, over $1.2 billion in military aid, $320 million in humanitarian aid, an additional $96 million in development assistance, and over $68 million in security and stabilization programming, according to a Feb. 16 government release.During her visit, Joly also spoke with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska about improving the response to conflict-related sexual violence. Joly announced the allocation of over $21 million to support organizations that address this issue, according to the release.