The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) is disappointed by comments on Ukraine made by Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday on ABC radio.
“Only a few months ago, the Foreign Minister rightly condemned the ‘abhorrent’ Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, including a children’s hospital in Kyiv. She reiterated that Australia continues to support the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal, immoral war,” said Ms Kateryna Argyrou, Co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations.
“Yesterday, however, these words of support appear limited in their ambition for Australia to stand up and act with purpose in helping Ukraine. When asked whether Ukraine should be afforded the right to use long-range strike capabilities against Russian military targets, the Foreign Minister evoked the dictator Putin’s ‘tough talk’ of red-lines and his threats to use small-scale nuclear weapons.
“For more than two and half years, Putin has rattled the sabre when he is most worried about forthcoming aid which would help Ukraine’s ability to protect its people and defend its territory from Russian attacks. In February 2022, Putin threatened Russia’s “response [to the West] will be immediate” and will lead “to consequences that you have never faced in your history”. In the time since, he has declared many ‘red lines’, including around the provision of ATACMS, F16s and western tanks, all of which were eventually provided and used to great effect. As noted by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week on Putin: “There’s a lot of bluster – that’s his modus operandi”.
“Putin’s playbook — which aims to intimidate and bully — has again been brought out on the question of Ukraine deploying long-range strike capabilities to target the airfields, bases and logistics centres which support Russian missile attacks on Ukraine.
“But we shouldn’t play into the Kremlin’s hands. As noted by retired Lt General Ben Hodges (former commander of US Army forces in Europe), there is no moral, legal or military reason for restricting Ukraine from using these weapons across the border in self-defence. The report of the Senate inquiry into Australia’s support for Ukraine, released yesterday, also recommends the Australian Government support the lifting of these restrictions. The AFUO hopes the Australia Government can support Ukraine’s use of long-range strikes against Russian military targets which, in a heartbreaking irony, currently have better protection than Ukrainian children.
“Unfortunately, despite the Foreign Minister’s insistence that Australia remains the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine, that has not been the case for two years. Australia is now seventh among non-NATO supporters, after Austria, Cyprus, Malta, Japan, Ireland and Switzerland, and we rank 36th of 41 donor countries by GDP, as tracked by the Kiel Institute. We are last among the developed G20 countries which support Ukraine.
“Ukrainians are deeply grateful for all that Australia has done to support our resistance against Russia’s full-scale invasion, but the reality is that Australia’s contributions have become smaller and less frequent over time. If the Government is going to ‘empower Ukraine’ to end Russia’s war ‘on its own terms’, Ukraine must be properly armed and supported, which means more effort is needed to shift the dial.
“On the question of reopening of the Australian Embassy in Kyiv, the Foreign Minister spoke of the symbolism of such a move. Reopening the Embassy is not just symbolic, it has many substantive and practical benefits. To be in Ukraine right now is to understand the reality of the war, which is why Labor figures like Julian Hill MP and Senator Deborah O’Neill have supported the Embassy’s reopening.
“Without an Embassy we cannot conduct routine diplomatic business or confer with the Ukrainian Government to ensure Australia’s support is comprehensive, timely and coordinated. We cannot sustain a practical dialogue with Ukraine’s other partners, like the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, which have all reopened their embassies in Ukraine and are acting at scale to provide support. It is also more difficult to facilitate visits to Ukraine by Australian parliamentarians, such as the visit made by Senator Birmingham recently, which help our political leaders obtain a better understanding of where Australian aid is going, the impact it is having, and why Australian support is so important,” Ms Argyrou concluded.
To read a transcript of the interview, go here: https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/transcript/interview-steve-cannane-rn-breakfast
