General Rick Hillier: Russia must be stopped in Ukraine now

General Rick Hillier, Canada’s much-admired former head of the Canadian military, recently signed on to head the Strategic Advisory Council (SAC) for the Ukrainian World Congress’ (UWC) non-lethal war materiél procurement and delivery program within the Unite With Ukraine campaign, particularly for Ukraine’s volunteer Territorial Defense Forces. 

General Hillier is already advising UWC and will soon announce a panel of distinguished generals from around the world who will join the SAC.  All of these former top military commanders understand the strategic importance of defeating Russia’s imperialistic ambitions in Ukraine, before it spreads to other countries.  

General Hillier went on a fact-finding mission to Ukraine with a UWC delegation in June in which he met with Ukrainian troops and defense and government officials, including the president’s office. The delegation also visited sites of Russian atrocities.  General Hillier came away with a clear conviction that Russia must be stopped.  

In an interview with Evan Solomon following the mission, General Hillier explained, “We’ve got to be really clear that the Russians have learned from the fiasco and the bloody nose that they took [attempting to take Kyiv]. And right now they’re hugging close to the Ukrainian Defense Forces and they’re killing them with artillery, which they have outnumbered them twelve to one and outranging them 20 to 50 kilometers. They’re killing the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The longer it goes on, the more likelihood of a big Russian victory, even a breakout to the west that could take the entire country.” 

Regarding the work of the SAC in advising UWC on procurement, General Hillier said, “Well, we’re going to advocate and get people to donate by advocating. Number one, we want to be able to provide to the Ukrainian World Congress the best advice we can on what Ukraine and the Ukrainian defense forces need, specifically their Territorial Defense Force, which are just civilians. And there are civilians who have been called into service to defend their families and their homes and their villages, 100,000 of them. 

“They don’t have any equipment. And what we want to do is to raise money to help give them the personal equipment, to give them a higher probability of surviving. Simple things like a helmet, glasses that protect the eyes, a flat vest with the steel plates, front and rear, a medical kit, knee pads, combat boots. 

“And we’re asking individuals, governments at every level, corporations, to donate and to help us buy that nonlethal kit to help protect the men and women in the territory defense force, all 100,000 of them.”

General Hillier consistently urges democratic countries to not forget about Ukraine, not only for the sake of saving Ukraine’s emerging democracy, but to prevent Russia from disrupting the global order. In a prescient statement, General Hillier told CTV News, “Just imagine what would occur if Russia breaks through and takes Ukraine, changes the oil and gas flow dramatically, changes the flow of wheat into Africa, to the Black Sea ports.”