Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is going to Ukraine to get a first-hand look at the situation in the troubled country.


Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Baird and a delegation of Ukrainian-Canadian leaders and parliamentarians will travel to Kyiv, the capital and the epicentre of the political unrest that has rocked Ukraine for months.


Harper says Baird will offer Canada's support for efforts to restore democracy in Ukraine.


News of the trip comes as Russia's ambassador to Canada says talk about the possibility of Russian troops invading Ukraine is nonsense.


Georgiy Mamedov says it's an insult to the intelligence of Canadians even to suggest that might happen in light of recent events in Kyiv.


Tensions between the West and Russia continue to run high after Ukrainian authorities ousted their Russian-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych.