Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak virtually to Canadian Parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address Parliament this morning, the latest in a series of virtual visits as he pleads for international aid.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has intensified in recent days with more than two million people fleeing the country so far and airstrikes hitting the capital of Kyiv.

Parliament is not scheduled to sit until March 21, but House Speaker Anthony Rota approved a special request to hold the address and allow guests to attend.

While visiting Europe last week, Trudeau announced that Canada will send another $50 million of specialized equipment to help Ukraine and slapped new sanctions on Russian oligarchs, government officials and supporters of the country’s leadership.

Canada has also committed $145 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in 2022 and created new immigration measures to help people fleeing the war.

Zelenskyy addressed the British House of Commons on March 8 and is scheduled to speak to members of the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday.

The Canadian event starting at 11:15 a.m. EDT will also feature addresses from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Rota and Senate Speaker George Furey, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green MP Elizabeth May.

Trudeau invited Zelenskyy to speak to Parliament during his trip to Europe.

Government House leader Mark Holland then asked Rota to schedule the address in a letter, calling the Russian invasion “unjustifiable.”

“This would be an opportunity for Canadians to hear directly from President Zelenskyy about the urgent and dire situation facing the people of Ukraine,” Holland wrote.

Trudeau has pledged Canada’s ongoing support to Ukraine.

“President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people who are demonstrating so much courage and resilience — they're not only defending their country, they're defending the democratic values that are so important to all of us,” he said in a speech to the Munich Security Conference, a Berlin-based international think tank, on March 9.

NATO has rejected repeated pleas from Zelenskyy to impose a no-fly zone over the country, a move that Trudeau has said would lead to an unnecessary escalation in the war.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2022.