Ukrainians!
Our defenders.
Today is an important day, very important. For us. For our people. For our freedom. It was here, at the Mariyinsky Palace, that I held talks today with my friend, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.
I am grateful to Justin for visiting our country. Exactly now, exactly on this day. A powerful sign of support and faith in the future of our people.
The Ukrainian and Canadian delegations held bilateral talks. We agreed to expand economic and defense cooperation. We have an extremely important decision by Canada to remove all barriers to trade for one year. Thank you, Canada. This agreement was reached in negotiations with Mr. Trudeau and will work in the interests of both the Ukrainian and Canadian people.
Among other things, Canada has a strong potential in mine clearance. We expect that this potential will be used in Ukraine - where the Russian occupiers left thousands of mines, tripwire mines, shells.
In the presence of Mr. Prime Minister, I awarded our sappers today. In particular, a small but very famous sapper - Patron. A dog who helps clean our land from the traces of the occupiers. And who also helps teach children mine safety. Due to the Russian invaders, this is now one of the most urgent tasks - to teach children to recognize and avoid explosive objects. This is the "liberation" from a safe life for Ukrainian children that Russia has brought to Ukraine.
