Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – The Canadian government urges its citizens to not travel to Ukraine in a new advisory citing Russian aggression.

Moscow has deployed more than 100,000 troops close to the Ukrainian border. The United States stated on Friday that it fears Russia is preparing to invade the United States if diplomacy fails to achieve its goals.

The Canadian government issued a late-Saturday travel advisory https:// stating that they have reduced the threat level to Ukraine and advised people to stay away from non-essential travel.

Canada with its large, politically powerful population of Ukrainian descent has been hard-lined with Russia ever since the annexation in 2014 of Crimea.

Ottawa announced earlier that Melanie Joly (Canadian Foreign Minister) will be visiting Kyiv next Tuesday to reiterate Canada’s support for Ukraine and strengthen efforts to prevent “aggressive” Russian actions.

Joly will travel to Ukraine to meet Denys Khmygal, Ukrainian Prime Minister. He’ll also be visiting the West of the Country to talk to 200 members of the Canadian training team that has been in place since 2015.

Marta Morgan, Canadian Deputy Foreign minister, and Wendy Sherman, U.S.Deputy Secretary of State spoke Friday. The two pledged close coordination to stop further Russian aggression against Ukraine. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that they also called for Russian de-escalation.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called Russia “the aggressor” in a conversation with Canadian broadcaster CBC. According to Stoltenberg, Russia should de-escalate. NATO would be willing to allow Moscow to voice its concerns.

Russia claims it does not intend to attack Ukraine. But, Russia says that it can take unspecified military action against any demands made by NATO allies.

Last week’s talks between Russia, the United States and its European allies ended. However, U.S. officials stated that there was still a high risk of Russia invading Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine and stated that “any military incursion in Ukraine would have severe consequences,” including coordination sanctions.

Canada has placed punitive sanctions on over 440 persons and entities following the annexe of Crimea.