Ukrainian prime minister in Canada: government planes with emojis

Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal visited Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. On arrival, Schmyhal’s symbolically decorated aviator catches the eye.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal visited Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his trip to North America. However, the Ukrainian government plane attracted a lot of attention. It was decorated with three emojis: a Ukrainian flag, a fighter jet and two hands clasped in prayer.

Schmyhal shared a photo of the reception on Twitter. He wrote: “Friendly Canada. One of the first countries to stand by Ukraine.” So are the emojis just a token of gratitude for the support so far, or is there more to it?

Some Twitter users were at least amused by Schmyhal’s tweet and also saw it as a hidden request for the delivery of fighter jets. One user wrote: “subliminal messaging at its finest”. After all, his trip to Canada and the USA is also about the question of further support.

After meeting Trudeau, he promised further deliveries of rifles and ammunition as well as sanctions against Russian individuals and organizations. In total, Canada will supply 21,000 assault rifles, 38 machine guns and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition, Trudeau told English-speaking media.

Next up for the Ukrainian prime minister are talks with the US. This is said to be about the possible delivery of F-16 fighter jets. It remains to be seen whether Schmyhal successfully flies back to Ukraine from Washington.