Yana Stavskaya 07:38, 01/18/22 – UNIAN

Neither the government nor the Canadian Forces have officially confirmed the new presence of special forces in Ukraine.

Canada deployed an elite special forces group (CSOR) to Ukraine amid growing tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border and relations between NATO and Russia.

It is reported by Global News , citing sources.

The presence of Canadian special forces is part of an effort by NATO allies to contain Russian aggression in Ukraine and determine ways to help the Ukrainian government.

The unit’s mission is also to help evacuate Canadian diplomats in the event of an invasion, the sources said.

Neither the government nor the Canadian Forces have officially confirmed the presence of special forces in Ukraine in comments to reporters, except that these special forces have been involved in Canada’s broader assistance.

As the press secretary of the command, Amber Bino, noted, Canadian units have been conducting exercises, as well as “sharing experience” with Ukrainian colleagues since 2020. Although the publication was informed about the new dispatch of the security forces.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, during a visit to Kiev, supported Ottawa’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty: “The concentration of Russian troops and equipment in and around Ukraine endangers security throughout the region.”

“These aggressive actions must be contained. Canada will work with its international partners to maintain international order and protect the human rights and dignity of Ukrainians,” she said.

Canada has consistently supported Kiev in its relations with Russia since the Russian occupation of Crimea and Donbass. Since 2014, the country has provided $750 million in support, including military equipment and sending troops for six months to train Ukrainian security officials.

What came before

Amid a possible Russian attack, Moscow is evacuating its diplomats from Ukraine, writes NYT. At the same time, London will send some weapons to Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression.

On January 17, Alexander Lukashenko announced large-scale military exercises with Russia on the border with Ukraine in February. That is when, according to intelligence, the Russian Federation may try to invade.

The threat of a full-scale attack of the Russian Federation on Ukraine

After the failure in negotiations with the US and NATO on “security guarantees,” Russia refused to remove its troops from the border . Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that Russia was “forced” to leave its troops near Ukraine because it “cannot put up with a NATO invasion.”

In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry began to blackmail the EU with a “difficult scenario” for Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed that Putin was being advised to “finish” the Ukraine issue . He did not specify the details of the “scenario”, because even this could “destabilize” the situation.

The White House still does not know what Putin is up to, but hopes for a diplomatic settlement of the crisis on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Putin began to pull Russian troops to the borders of Ukraine in the spring of 2021, the situation escalated in November 2021. Western and Ukrainian intelligence confirms the Kremlin’s offensive plans. For a new invasion, Russia can use at least 100,000 troops. This can happen as early as winter.

At the same time, the Pentagon noted that before the offensive, Russia may try to conduct a special operation in eastern Ukraine against its own occupying forces in order to have a reason to send troops.