Canada's PM on surprise visit to Kyiv as Ukraine steps up counteroffensive against Russia
CBC Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday as the Ukrainian military stepped up its long-anticipated counteroffensive to drive the Russian army out of occupied eastern and southern regions of the battered country.
Trudeau arrived in the Ukrainian capital as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government struggled to assess the damage and mount further downstream evacuations following the destruction of the giant Nova Kakhovka dam. He's in Ukraine with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Both Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the collapse, which U.S. intelligence agencies and a Norwegian research foundation citing seismic data said on Friday was caused by some kind of explosion.
Trudeau's trip to Ukraine was planned under a strict news blackout.
It's taken him awayfromOttawaas the political crisis over alleged Chinese foreign interference in the last two federal elections took a dramatic turn with the abrupt resignation of special rapporteur and former governor general David Johnston.
