Canada to send observers to international Ukraine mission for Crimea

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada will send observers to join an unarmed military mission in the Ukraine and will impose sanctions on the regime of fugitive Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Harper tells the House of Commons the observers will help to monitor the Russian military intervention in Crimea.

They will be under the auspices of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Canada, Vadym Prystaiko, told The Canadian Press earlier this week that many governments are looking at how to get into Crimea to see the situation on the ground.

He says the Ukrainian government wants to disprove the Russian claim that their invasion is in support of civilians in the Crimean peninsula.

Harper says Canada is also suspending its participation in a joint commercial commission with Russia