Canada Slaps New Sanctions on Russia, Targeting Its Drone Program

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced Canada has imposed more sanctions on Russia while attending a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Ontario’s Niagara region.

“We firmly believe that continued collective pressure on Russia is necessary… So today, we are announcing a new package of sanctions to further increase the economic costs to Russia of waging war,” Anand said at a press conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Nov. 12.

The sanctions, which came into force on Nov. 6, target 13 individuals and 11 entities, including several that are involved in the development and deployment of Russia’s drone program in its war against Ukraine, according to a release from Global Affairs Canada.

The sanctions also target entities supplying the cyber infrastructure Russia has used in cyberattacks against Ukraine, and a Kyrgyzstan-owned financial institution that has been enabling Russia to evade sanctions.

Also included in the sanctions are several Russian liquefied natural gas entities that provide energy revenues allowing Moscow to fund its war against Ukraine, the statement says, as well as 100 vessels from Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to transport oil while evading Western sanctions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said during the press conference alongside Anand that the G7 meeting was “important for our peace efforts.” He said Ukraine wants to see an end to the war, and the leaders will be discussing “practical steps to bring it to a close.”

In addition to her counterparts from the G7, Anand also invited representatives from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and South Korea to take part in the two-day gathering in Ontario. The gathering will include discussions on global economic and security challenges, energy security, and critical minerals.

The night before, the G7 foreign ministers held a working dinner to discuss global peace and security, including a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, security in the Indo-Pacific, and crises in Haiti and Sudan.

Since Russia first invaded and annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 3,300 individuals and entities related to Russia. Ottawa said this has included 400 vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet.

Canada has provided $12.3 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022, as well as committed $6.5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.

The Liberal government’s Budget 2025 includes $6.2 billion over five years to expand the country’s defence partnerships, which includes expanded military assistance to Ukraine.

In August, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The meeting ended early without an agreement being announced.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders then met with Trump to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump said following the meeting that several countries could provide Ukraine with security guarantees, and that a trilateral meeting between himself, Zelenskyy, and Russian President Putin could soon be arranged.

No trilateral meeting has taken place since, as Zelenskyy rejected Putin’s offer for the two leaders to meet in Moscow, and Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine. A proposed second meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest was also called off on Oct. 31.

Moscow has pushed for Ukraine to cede the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk that Russia currently occupies and announced it had annexed in September 2022, while Kyiv has rejected these demands. Trump has also previously suggested that Ukraine should cede some territory in the Donbas region in order to end the war.