Five Ukrainian lawmakers issued the appeal after meeting in person with Prime Minister Justin Trinto and other government officials in a desperate attempt to secure more support for their besieged nation.
The delegation rejected the prospect of peace through negotiations as another failed attempt to rescue civilians from the city of Mariupol and an explosion at a Russian fuel depot on Friday threatened to undermine the final round of talks.
Instead, Ukrainian lawmakers listed three priority areas in which they said Ukraine needed more help: further sanctions on Russia, financial aid to Güá– and more weapons.
“The only way to have real negotiations with Russia is to achieve military supremacy on the ground,” said delegation member Anastasia Radina.
“Ukraine must win the war to keep Russian troops out of our territories. That is our only choice. To do that, Ukraine needs deadly weapons. Heavy weapons.”
Ukraine has given Canada an “exhaustive” list of urgently needed military equipment, Radina added, which includes tanks and anti-aircraft systems.
“We can not do that with rifles, we have to have heavy weapons to kick Russians off our territory,” said Yevheniya Kravchuk, a fellow member of the delegation.
“Because if we talk about the end of this war, we mean victory in this war, because other than that, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will not stop.”
Canada has sent large quantities of military equipment to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, since Russian forces first attacked in late February.
However, Defense Secretary Anita Anand said the Canadian Armed Forces stockpile of available equipment was now depleted.  She and Trinto said the government was instead considering buying off-the-shelf weapons for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian delegation said that it was possible to buy the necessary weapons from European countries, so they asked the Liberal government to provide money for this purpose in next week’s federal budget.
“As far as funds for the arms market are concerned, this is one of the demands we have made,” Radina said.  “And I hope we have fulfilled this sense of urgency.”
The delegation warned of delays caused by “bureaucratic decision-making”, saying immediate weapons were needed.
Lawmakers have also called on Canada to provide immediate financial assistance to the Kiev government, which they say is struggling to cope with the economic damage caused by the Russian invasion.
The International Monetary Fund released $ 1.4 billion in emergency funds to Ukraine last month to deal with the “significant” economic damage caused by the war, which has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians.
“We are not only seeking support from the International Monetary Fund, but we are also seeking direct funding in our state budget,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, chair of the delegation.
Ukrainian lawmakers said they had called for a meeting Thursday with Trinto and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also Canada’s finance minister of Ukrainian descent.
“We are inspired by the brave people of Ukraine and their vast struggle against Putin’s barbaric invasion,” said Freeland spokeswoman Adrienne Vaupshas.
“As we have said since the beginning of this war, all options are on the table to ensure that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fails.”
On Friday, Trinto listened to cabinet ministers and senior government officials during a meeting of the “incident team” to discuss the war in Ukraine.
“The prime minister and ministers discussed the humanitarian, financial and military assistance that Canada has provided to Ukraine to date and explored options for further responding to Ukraine’s evolving needs in the face of Russia’s continuing aggression,” the office said in a statement.  statement for the meeting.
Kravchuk told reporters that an air raid siren was heard on her phone during the delegation’s meeting with the prime minister.
“This meant that in the neighborhood where my eight-year-old daughter lives, there was an air raid and my daughter had to go to the basement instead of going to school,” he said.
At least 148 children have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, he said, adding that the actual number is likely much higher.
Representatives also accused Putin, the Russian government and the military of committing war crimes, and thanked Canada for asking the International Criminal Court to investigate.
This Canadian Press report was first published on April 1, 2022.