It’s day one-hundred-and-eighteen of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and word has it that the Russians are trying to overcome Severodonestk by Sunday, thereby taking the whole of the Luhansk region. While the Ukrainians are being pounded by artillery, they are allegedly inflicting heavy casualties on the Russians, but they need more Western arms, and they need them to arrive even faster if they have any hope of taking out the Russian artillery that is pounding them. Ukraine, meanwhile, is planning on taking a bunch of destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles on a tour around Europe to keep attention on the conflict as it drags on.
On #WorldRefugeeDay I welcomed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador @BenStiller at @MFA_Ukraine. We discussed ways to address acute needs of Ukrainians who fled Russian aggression. I stressed that Russia’s forceful displacement of Ukrainian citizens and children requires a robust response. pic.twitter.com/VRW8NOIihW
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 20, 2022
Closer to home, the attention on the Hill yesterday was on the heritage committee, where Hockey Canada officials were summoned to explain the payout to settle a sexual assault claim, and whether federal funds were used to do so in contravention of their funding agreements. The minister has ordered a forensic audit of their finances to ensure that this didn’t happen, but we did see MPs on all sides go hard on this, as they should have. (Note that the Conservatives did try to use this issue as a means of procedural warfare in their filibuster of the online broadcasting bill, which was absolutely skeezy). Here is some comment from former athlete and whistle-blower Alheli Picazo, who has experience with the problem of tackling abuse in sport:
Because if the answer were a simple "no," a simple "no" would have been offered.
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) June 21, 2022
Survivor of Graham James: https://t.co/d9Mt3DyWUY
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) June 21, 2022
It can, and it will. https://t.co/UAZjSrsfW1
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) June 21, 2022
What a goddamned farce.
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) June 21, 2022