Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyduring a surprise trip to Kyiv, made at a time of intensifying fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the south and east of the country.

After the meeting, the two leaders took part in a press conference during which Trudeau indicated that the destruction of a dam in southern Ukraine was a “direct consequence” of the Russian invasionbut without specifying whether the Kremlin was responsible.

Moscow and Kiev blame each other for the attack on the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, which caused the flooding of the Dnieper in the areas under Ukrainian control and those controlled by Russia, killing several people and injuring dozens.

“We have seen the damage caused by the collapse of the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. It is a direct consequence of the war waged by Russia,” said Trudeau, accompanied by Zelensky.

“We have no doubt that the destruction of the dam is a direct consequence of Russia’s decision to invade the country,” he added.

Trudeau also announced $10 million in aid to help Ukraine cope with the aftermath of the war and $500 million in additional military aid.

In addition, I am announcing that Canada will participate in multinational efforts to train fighter pilots, maintain and support Ukraine’s fighter aircraft program. »

Trudeau laid a wreath next to a wall displaying the faces of soldiers killed in action in kyiv, while a military band played, AFP news agency reported.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk presented the Canadian Prime Minister with a box of shrapnel that fell in Odessa, Ukraine’s major Black Sea port city.

“It’s a little reminder of how Ukraine suffered from Russian missile barrages,” Polishchuk said in English.

A group of Ukrainian military personnel who received training in Canada spoke with Trudeau.

This visit comes at a time when the Russian authorities are reporting several large-scale Ukrainian attacks against positions of Muscovite troops in the south and east of the country.

Zelensky spoke for the first time today about the “counter-offensive actions” launched by his forces, although without revealing the scale or details of the situation, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke of the start of these operations that Kiev has been preparing for months to recover the occupied territories.