Canada's relations with Russia have slid to a post-Soviet low, ambassador says

Canada's top envoy in Moscow says relations with post-Soviet Russia are likely as bad as they've ever been, as the war in Ukraine grinds on and Vladimir Putin enters his fifth term as president.

In her first media interview as ambassador to Russia, which aired Saturday on CBC Radio's, Sarah Taylor said the combination of the war in Ukraine and Russia's internal crackdown on dissent had led to a rapid and dramatic deterioration in the relationship.

«I would say it's certainly a relationship that is extremely poor at the moment, probably the poorest it's ever been» since the fall of the Soviet Union, Taylor told host Catherine Cullen.

The invasion of Ukraine, Taylor said, is the main factor. She also expressed concern about Russian domestic issues, including what she called a «crackdown on democracy, human rights [and] civil society.»

The conflict in Ukraine has stagnated into a war of attrition across a relatively stable front, though Ukraine has expressed concerns about depleted military materiel and the urgent need for Western aid.

Ukraine has said a months-long delay in an aid package from the United States put it at a tactical disadvantage. Russia launched a new ground attack in the country's east on Friday.

Putin used the occasion of his inauguration to a fifth presidential term in Russia to rail against the West's support for embattled Ukraine. The United States announced a new $400 million aid package for Ukraine on Friday.

«The choice is theirs: do they intend to continue trying to restrain the development of Russia, continue the policy of aggression, incessant pressure on our country for years, or look for a path to cooperation and peace?» Putin said in his speech Tuesday.

Taylor did not attend Putin's inauguration — a