'There are enormous needs for rebuilding': Ukrainian ambassador speaks in London

The Ukrainian ambassador to Canada visited London, Ont. on Friday afternoon.

Yuliya Kovaliv called for continued military support, but focused her visit on her nation’s economy and its rebuilding.

Kovaliv told an audience of local Ukrainian leaders, politicians and students that she had visited London’s General Dynamics light armored vehicle plant Friday morning.

She later arrived at Ivey Business School at Western University for her address and a question and answer session.

“There are enormous needs for the rebuilding,” she said of the challenge facing her homeland.

Kovaliv said the road to recovery in Ukraine is already underway thanks to new trade partnerships with Canada and the European Union.

But as the war rages into its third year, she acknowledged more support is needed.

Yuliya Kovaliv, Ukrainian ambassador to Canada, speaks at Ivey Business School in London, Ont. on March 8, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

She then turned to the Ivey students and said the values they are learning could help Ukraine.

“We would say as Ukrainians that leadership matters. And I learned the three main pillars that you’ve been learning here, which is character, competence and commitment,” she said.

At the start of the war, Ivey alumni paid for one-year of tuition and housing for 10 Ukrainian students.

“I don’t think we we’re prepared for how these students came into our community and enriched our lives,” said Dean Sharon Hodgson.

And as those students return to aid their nation, Kovaliv is hopeful they’ll soon be joined by other young Canadian minds when the war ends.

“We will need to have the best partners,” she said. “We will need to have the best practices. We will need to have technology.”