Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, Jolie said Ottawa was considering “different scenarios” to do so. “My goal is to do it in the coming days, in the coming weeks. “We just need to make sure there is a safe environment for staff and we also look at what our other Five Eyes colleagues and allies are doing,” Joly said. Canada closed its embassy in Kyiv on February 12 and relocated diplomats to the western city of Lviv as threats of a Russian invasion intensified. All staff have since been transferred to Poland. Almost two weeks later, Russian forces invaded the country. Last Friday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain planned to revive its diplomacy in Ukraine this week. The US, France and Italy have announced similar plans. This has put increasing pressure on the Canadian government to follow suit. Joly said she spoke about the issue with Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza on Thursday morning. Former Canadian ambassador to Russia Jeremy Kinsman says Canada should never have transferred its diplomatic presence from Ukraine. “We should never have left. We did not have to close the embassy. “I do not know why governments repeatedly forget what we have learned from the past. Our embassies are accredited to a government and you do not leave the government,” he told CTV News Channel Power Play last Friday. Jolie was also asked by senators how seriously Canada should take Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear weapons threat. The minister said that people should be prepared for all scenarios. “This will not be the end or the last time Russia has made threats in light of the fact that Ukrainian forces are resisting much more than they thought possible,” he said. Russia continues to advance in what southern officials call a “special military operation” in southern and eastern Ukraine. These advances are expected to escalate in the days leading up to May 9, also known as Victory Day in Russia, a celebration that recognizes the Soviet Union’s role in the liberation of Nazi Germany. Jolie pointed to the date as an explanation for the recent increase in military aid missions to Ukraine. Defense Secretary Anita Anand told reporters Thursday while visiting her counterpart in Washington that Canadian troops are currently training Ukrainian forces on how to use the M777 guns they sent them last week. With archive from the Canadian Press.
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