Greater Sudbury's two federal members of parliament are among those Canadian politicians who have been banned by Russia.
On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released the names of 313 Canadians banned from entering the country. The black list includes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly and Minister of National Defense Anita Anand, as well as most MPs.
The list was released the same morning that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked to Canadian Parliament. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus is also among the list of Canadians banned from Russia. He issued a statement about it, indicating takes making the blacklist as a point of pride.
“This is an illegal war. Putin is acting like an international criminal. I will not be intimidated by Putin’s blacklist. I will continue to speak up in defence of the Ukrainian people," he said in a news release.
In the early days of the war, Angus pushed to rename the street in front of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa to honour Zelenskyy.
With today's sanctions, he said he's more committed to the struggle.
“I think of the Ukrainian people being bombed out of their homes. I think of the ordinary Russian people who have no desire to be dragged into this ugly conflict. I will do what I can to keep Canada focused on pushing for an end to this brutal and illegal conflict," Angus said.
Canada has sent military supplies to Ukraine, issued sanctions against Russia and closed Canadian airspace to Russian-owned aircraft.
Prior to Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament on Tuesday morning, Joly announced that Canada is sanctioning another 15 Russian politicians and military leaders.
There are now more than 780 individuals in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus on Canada's sanction list, and 203 entities including banks.
