In the past 12 months, the illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine has intensified. Moscow’s bombings of Ukrainian cities typically consist of up to 800 murderous missiles and drones per night. Civilian deaths have risen in turn.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have stated on some 24 occasions that Australia “stands with Ukraine” in the past year. Australia has also signed up to the “coalition of the willing” in support of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: AP
In the past 12 months, by contrast, the Australian government has made no new contributions of any kind to Ukraine – be they military, humanitarian or reconstruction. In fact, not even the delivery of the full complement of the pledged 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks has yet been achieved, despite the commitment being made in October 2024.
Don’t get me wrong. Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky are very grateful for the tanks received and, indeed, the $1.5 billion in provided aid between 2022 and 2024. We are grateful for the government’s stated solidarity.
However, it is difficult to understand why substantive support has been paused at a time when Ukraine needs it most. Regrettably, there is a growing gap between the rhetoric about Ukraine and the reality of Ukrainian aid. I say this as an ambassador who is obligated to speak plainly about the relations between our countries, but also as a Ukrainian father whose family apartment in Kyiv is within 500 metres of fallen bombs.
This situation is particularly difficult to understand in the context of two economic aspects. In the first respect, as acknowledged in budget papers, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a significant spike in global commodity prices, which in turn have significantly improved Australia’s terms of trade, injecting tens of billions of dollars worth of tax, royalty and other revenue receipts.
There is no doubt that the Commonwealth budget position has been significantly improved by the situation. Simple maths show that for every dollar of “war windfall” revenue Australia has received, mere cents have flowed back to Ukraine in the form of Australian support.
The fight goes on: rescuers search for survivors after a Russian missile hit a hostel in the Ukrainian town Zaporizhzhia on Thursday.Credit: AP
In the second respect, Russian-derived fuel products continue to be brought into ports around the country by Australian fuel importers. While Australia has sanctions on Russian crude, there is a well-utilised loophole by which Russian crude is “laundered” through third-country refineries, including in India and China.
