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vladimir putin

Céline Dion is speaking out in solidarity with Ukraine. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada and many countries have implemented sanctions against Russia, and now Canada's very own Céline Dion is joining the cause.

In an Instagram video posted to Céline's page on April 8, Dion voiced her sorrow and concern for the millions of people who have fled Ukraine.

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Earlier this month, a poutine restaurant chain in France took to social media to clarify its lack of ties to "the Russian regime and its leader," claiming it had received "calls of insults and even threats" from people thinking its name meant it was affiliated with Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin translates to Vladimir Poutine in French, as both spellings were adapted from the Cyrillic Russian spelling.

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The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has garnered international attention since Russia invaded Ukraine back on February 24, 2022. Since then, many world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, have implemented a number of sanctions against Russia.

This includes the ceasing of the sale of Russian alcohol products across Canada, the sale of Russian oil, and the ban of Russian planes entering Canadian airspace.

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Couche-Tard is the latest company to either pull out of or pause work in Russia in protest of President Vladimir Putin's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. The Quebec-based company said on March 7 that it's suspending operations in all its stores in Russia effective immediately.

The 38 stores in Saint Petersburg, Murmansk (in northwestern Russia) and Pskov (southwest of Saint Petersburg near the border with Estonia) were operating under the Circle K brand.

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A poutine restaurant chain in France took to social media to clarify that it is not linked to "the Russian regime and its leader." It says it has received "calls of insults and even threats" given that the "Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, has been at the centre of a chilling news story" over the past few days.

Vladimir Putin translates to Vladimir Poutine in French, as both spellings were adapted from the Cyrillic Russian spelling.

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You may have seen "poutine" trending on Twitter, spawning countless bad memes from anglophones who confuse the French spelling of the autocratic Russian president's name with the gravy-logged dish from Quebec. "Putin," of course, isn't how it's spelled, either.

Both spellings are just approximations roughly matching the native Russian pronunciation of his name with Roman letters that produce similar sounds in French and English. The French "Poutine" also conveniently avoids sounding too much like the favourite vulgar interjection "putain."

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