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London: Australia’s diplomatic presence in Ukraine’s war-torn capital would be immediately restored under a Coalition government, would-be foreign minister Simon Birmingham has pledged during the first visit by a senior politician to Kyiv in more than two years.
The Liberal Senate leader arrived in Ukraine this week as the nation endured a huge missile and drone assault by Moscow following Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region.
Ukrainian soldiers guard the sky with a machine-gun on a road in Kyiv during a Russian missile and drone attack.Credit: AP
Vladimir Putin’s forces are intensifying their fightback after Ukraine’s stunning cross-border assault into Russia earlier this month, with fierce combat on the ground and an aerial assault that has knocked out power and water across the country.
Australia remains an international outlier as it refuses to reopen the embassy in Kyiv more than two-and-a-half years after Russian troops invaded, as almost 70 of the 81 countries that temporarily shuttered their posts in February 2022 have now returned.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has insisted that the threat of rockets raining down on Kyiv means the city remains unsafe for diplomats, but Birmingham said the federal government’s “stubborn refusal” to overrule the department’s conservative advice and send its ambassador back had left Australia open to questions about its reliability as a partner.
Birmingham said a Dutton government would work with international partners, particularly Canada, to safely reopen Australia’s embassy in Kyiv as soon as possible. The Canadian embassy, which is in the same building as the Australian embassy, reopened in May 2022.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister for Euro Atlantic Integration Dr Oleksandr Balanutsa, opposition spokesman for foreign affairs Simon Birmingham and Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defence Dmytro Klimenkov.
“From Ireland to Indonesia, around 70 other countries have reopened a physical presence in Kyiv, demonstrating support for Ukraine and ensuring they receive the best possible intelligence and information,” he said.
“Australian governments have managed to keep our officials safe in dangerous conflicts before, such as Baghdad and Kabul. It shouldn’t be beyond our system to work with all of the international partners who’ve already led the way to create the safest possible environment for our diplomats to be able to do their job effectively.”