The Russian invasion of Ukraine has unified western nations like never before and strengthened NATO’s alliance, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said on Friday.
Speaking to a crowd at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, Joly said “there’s nothing like having one villain” to unite against.
“President (Vladimir) Putin sought to divide the West and exploit our differences, but we are more united than ever,” she said.
She said the strategy of the United States of declassifying intelligence information about the Russian troops on the Ukrainian borders before the war has helped in preventing Russia from winning the war.
“It helped to prevent the war for some time. And it helped Ukrainians get ready, particularly on the military side, but also (helped) us as governments to be ready for what was coming up,”
“Also, it helped unite Europeans and North Americans on the issue, which was really important.”
Joly reiterated that the federal government is willing to bring in unlimited numbers of Ukrainian refugees and officials are looking at possible airlifts from neighbouring European countries to bring people to Canada.
More than 3.5 million people have fled the country so far during the 23-day Russian invasion.
Asked about U.S. intelligence and Russian propaganda in recent days that has hinted at the possibility of a chemical or nuclear attacks in Ukraine, Joly said she is “very concerned” and that this war represents the biggest threat to world peace since the Second World War.
The minister also says social media companies need to do more to prevent propaganda and disinformation, which she said has been a key feature of this conflict.
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