In response to the AFUO’s letter to Foreign Minister Penny Wong – Senator for SA urging Australia to join calls to assist Ukrainians trapped in russian-occupied Oleshky, senior Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officials invited the AFUO to discuss Australia’s support for Ukraine in multilateral forums.
DFAT highlighted Australia’s statements at the United Nations, including a reference to Oleshky at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, and joint statements with partners condemning russia’s sham elections in the occupied territories and russia’s illegal invasion.
We thank the Government for this advocacy, and Foreign Minister Wong for joining European and Canadian counterparts in refusing to be photographed with russia’s Foreign Minister at last week’s G20 foreign ministers’ meeting – a clear signal that there can be no “business as usual” with russia.
Last week, a temporary ceasefire allowed exhausted and starving Oleshky residents to reach safety in Ukraine.
Yet this short pause, which russia presented as “proof” of its “peaceful” intentions, changed nothing. Throughout the ceasefire, russia kept attacking Ukrainian cities, including a drone strike on Dnipro’s main railway station that killed 14 civilians, and strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other regions. Ukraine’s General Staff reported that russian forces used the truce to rotate troops and strengthen their position.
russia’s ongoing aggression must not become normalised. We urge the Australian Government to maintain diplomatic pressure on russia and to ensure it faces full accountability for its crime of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
We look forward to continuing our engagement with the Australian Government and DFAT in support of Ukraine.
