OTTAWA/KYIV/MOSCOW - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday announced new financial support for Ukraine during a meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to a news release from the prime minister's official website, the commitment of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars ($1.83 billion) for Ukraine includes financing that will enable the International Monetary Fund to lend to Ukraine, as well as other debt service suspension and loan guarantee programs.
Carney and Zelensky held a bilateral meeting in the Canadian city of Halifax to discuss the latest developments in ongoing peace talks.
Carney affirmed Canada's full support for Ukraine. They also participated in a call with European leaders to advance joint efforts for Ukraine's security and recovery, added the release.
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"Canada has committed new support to Ukraine, not only to help end this war, but also to help the Ukrainian people recover and rebuild," said Carney.
Zelensky on Saturday stopped over in the Canadian city before flying to Florida to meet with US President Donald Trump for talks aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis.
According to local media, Zelensky is set to discuss a 20-point peace plan with Trump, likely at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
In Kyiv, at least one person was killed and 23 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that 22 people were injured in the missile and drone attack on the city, with 12 of them hospitalized. He added that more than 2,600 residential buildings, 187 kindergartens and 138 schools in Kiev were left without heating following the strikes.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that the attack damaged facilities in seven districts of the capital, including at least five apartment buildings.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK Group, implemented emergency power cuts across Kyiv due to the attacks.
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In the Kyiv region, one person was killed and another was injured, regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said. He noted that the strikes targeted critical infrastructure, businesses, shops and residential buildings in six districts of the region.
Meanwhile, the Russian army holds control of the strategic city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, and conducted a large-scale strike on Ukrainian military-related targets overnight, Moscow said Saturday.
The raid was made "in response to terrorist attacks carried out by the Kiev regime against civilian facilities on Russian territory," the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces used long-range precision weapons from land, air and sea platforms, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, to attack power infrastructure supporting Ukrainian military operations and defense industry.
The strike achieved its objectives, with all designated targets successfully hit, said the statement.
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Kupyansk remains under the control of Russian troops after they repelled five Ukrainian counterattacks over the past two days, said Ivan Bigma, spokesman of Russia's Western Group of Forces.
"All counterattacks were repelled, and no territorial losses were sustained," Bigma said.
During the engagements, Russian forces destroyed five pieces of military equipment, including two US-made M113 armored personnel carriers, and eliminated over 20 Ukrainian soldiers, he added.
