Russian Embassy: Canada's New Sanctions Demonstrate 'Thoughtless' Position on Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - New sanctions by Canada against Russia show Ottawa's thoughtless stance on the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian Embassy said in a statement.

"The new round of illegal and unjustifiable sanctions once again demonstrates Ottawa’s biased and thoughtless position on the Ukrainian crisis," the statement said on Tuesday.

Global Affairs Canada announced earlier on Tuesday that the government imposed new Russia-related sanctions targeting 43 military officials and 17 entities linked to the special military operation in Ukraine.

"Canada’s government without any evidence is trying to blame the Russian side for the provocations and false flag operations clearly staged by the Kiev regime, such as Bucha," the embassy said.

Moreover, Canadian authorities and media outlets deliberately turn a blind eye on to egregious crimes committed by the Ukrainian military which keeps on shelling the civilian areas of Donbas with Western heavy weapons, the embassy added.

This includes killing children at playgrounds with anti-personnel mines PFM-1 "Lepestok" prohibited by the Ottawa convention," the statement said.

In total, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 2,750 Russian and Belarusian nationals and Ukrainian facilitators of Russia’s operation in Ukraine.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is solely targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure.