Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says he’s flying to Canada for first 2026 visit

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska follow the coffin carrying Norway's King Harald V as it is taken in a procession from Oslo Cathedral to the palace chapel at Akershus Castle in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Christoffer Andersen/Pool Photo via AP)

OTTAWA — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he was on his way to Canada for his first visit to the country this year.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy shared video of himself arriving in Iceland for a meeting with the Icelandic foreign minister, and said he stopped there “on my way to Canada.”

He had been in Oslo for the funeral of King Harald V earlier in the day.

Zelenskyy’s office published a notice that he would stop in Iceland on his way to Canada, but neither Ukraine, nor Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office, have publicly announced where he will be travelling in Canada, or the purpose of the visit.

Zelenskyy last visited Canada in Halifax last December, amid efforts to end the war Russia started in 2014 and expanded four and a half years ago.

Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Kyiv in August 2025. His predecessor Justin Trudeau visited Ukraine each year after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Kyiv has suffered a barrage of Russian airstrikes in recent months and Ukraine has been pleading for more air defence support from its allies.

Canadian MPs across party lines have put Ukraine at the centre of their foreign policy platforms. In May, Canada joined an agreement to learn from Ukrainian drone producers.

Ottawa has made no new funding announcements for Ukraine since then. Canada has pledged $6.5 billion in military assistance for Ukraine since the 2022 invasion. That funding runs through to 2029.

The Kiel Institute, which measures global contributions to Ukraine, pegs Canada as the fourth most generous in raw dollars, and in 12th place based on gross domestic product. Canada’s donations include military aid, government financing and humanitarian support.

Ukraine has managed in recent months to hold back Russian advances and strike targets within Russia itself, including oil refineries and warehouses owned by Russia’s biggest online retailer.

Moscow has at times hinted at an end to the conflict it launched in 2014 by seizing Crimea and escalated in 2022 with the full-scale invasion.

But Ukrainian and European officials have said the war should only end on terms that prevent Russia from rearming and attacking elsewhere.

Zelenskyy’s visit to Canada comes as European leaders argue Russia is widening its war through acts of sabotage, including paying youths to vandalize railways. There have multiple incidents of European airports halting operations due to drones attributed to Russia.

Germany last week blamed Russia for what it called an attempted explosive drone attack near a Ukrainian cargo plane at the Leipzig airport. Carney called that “an egregious attempt by Russia to weaken our resolve and our collective defence.”

Across Europe, political parties once considered fringe over their support for Russia have seen their popularity increase as the continent tackles economic, environmental and migration crises.

Zelenskyy’s visit also comes at a time of rising domestic pressure on his own government, which was elected in 2019 and cannot call elections due to a constitutional ban on votes during martial law.

In July, Zelenskyy fired both his defence minister and military chief after days of protests. Opponents have accused him of involvement in various corruption scandals.

.Ukraine has increasingly relied on Canada to advocate for its sovereignty and a just end to the war in various international forums.

U.S. President Donald Trump will host world leaders in Miami for the G20 summit in December. There are signs he might allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend, despite Putin being subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

The warrant is based on Russia’s abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children in what the court says is a probable war crime.

Later this month, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will co-host a summit in Toronto focused on the return of Ukrainian children and prisoners of war.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2026

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press