Canada Provides Electrical Transformers to Assist Power Restoration in Ukraine

The Canadian government is providing seven electrical transformers to help reconstruct Ukraine’s struggling power grid.

The news come on the same day Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission is visiting Canada to discuss clean energy, international trade, and support for Ukraine.

The EU’s joint response group, Civil Protection Mechanism, which helps to manage emergency responses in the region, will be responsible for delivering the transformers.

“I very much welcome your intention to deliver generators to Ukraine, very much needed in these times, where Putin is strategically destroying the energy infrastructure and civil infrastructure in Ukraine,” said von der Leyen while speaking with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“As Ukrainians continue to contend with the effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion, we reiterate our message to Ukraine and its people: Canada is with you. Our support will not relent,” stated Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.

“Ukrainians are not alone in the fight for their homeland. Canada will always support democracy, sovereignty and human rights. Canada will always support Ukraine.”

The news aligns with a proposal from von der Leyen for export growth of clean hydrogen to Europe from Canada as the European Union attempts to reduce its reliance on energy from Russia.

“It is an extraordinary journey that we have undertaken during the last year,” said von der Leyen on Tuesday at the Canadian Forces Base Kingston. She also added that over the course of last year, Europe has been successful in eliminating its “over-dependency” on Russian oil and gas.

“We have immediately diversified away form Russia to like-minded, trusted partners,” von der Leyen said, listing as examples U.S. liquefied natural gas and Norway’s pipeline gas.

The European Commission president said Canada has “helped a lot” as well, by increasing its LNG production.

“We do not have the necessary infrastructure to link Canada directly with the European Union, but the increased production of LNG here in Canada helped the global market to supply enough LNG to those who needed it,” said von der Leyen.

“So it was a very difficult journey, but in the very end, thanks to our friends and partners, we were able to come out stronger than we started last year.”

Prime Minister Trudeau and President von der Leyen spoke about critical raw materials, which von der Leyen referred to as “the lifeblood of the clean economy.”

Canada and the European Union have been “strongly aligned,” according to von der Leyen, and both Trudeau and von der Leyen applauded the sanctions placed on Russia.

Prime Minister Trudeau declared on Tuesday that Canada is donating an extra $3 million to help with mining in Ukraine, as well as funding for rebuilding and restoring the region which has been damaged by war.