Does Australia still stand with Ukraine? The reality no longer matches the rhetoric

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.

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.

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.

The result is that Australian consumers, industry and perhaps even the Australian Defence Force have never consumed more Russian-derived fuel than they do today. Despite global sanctions, Australia is the world’s largest single country importer of Russian-derived fuel products. Since February 2023 — one year after Russia brought war to Ukraine — this fuel loophole has seen Australia send well over $2 billion in revenue to the Russian Federation, which equals the value of some 200 Kinzhal missiles fired by the Kremlin at Kyiv. It seems immoral that Australia’s $2 billion in payments to Russia exceeds its $1.5 billion of support to Ukraine.

While the responsibility for the Russo-Australian oil trade ultimately rests with Australian fuel importers, it is happening on this government’s watch. Fuel importers have the power to turn the tap off — rather than increase the flow as they are currently doing — but if they won’t act, the government must force them to.

I remain hopeful that the Australian government will recognise, as Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has noted, that the Ukrainian war is very much pertinent to security in the Indo-Pacific region, and that it will kick-start support for Ukraine’s defence and victory.

A very strong measure would be to immediately require petroleum importers and suppliers – and here I speak of Ampol, BP and Viva – to guarantee that they source and import products free from upstream Russian oil sources.

There are other significant measures Australia can take. As requested by NATO and Ukraine, it can contribute to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) to channel resources into the most urgent battlefield needs.

Additionally, Ukraine highly values the unique and effective Australian armoured vehicles that are the Bushmaster and the Hawkei. Vehicles surplus to ADF requirements, or new-builds from production lines, are urgently requested. Ukraine seeks at least a pool of new Bushmasters to replace those destroyed in combat.

Australia can also join the 22 nations participating in the Demining Coalition, an initiative to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to clear landmines.

Ultimately, we ask for a demonstration of the mateship that the government has previously shown us in practical ways. To that end, at the local cafe, airport lounges or sporting sidelines, I am often reminded by regular Australians that walking away from a fight is not the Australian way.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko is Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia.

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