Australia to reopen embassy in Kyiv almost three years after Russian invasion
London: Australia will reopen its embassy in war-torn Kyiv next month almost three years since its diplomats fled to neighbouring Poland in the days ahead of Russia’s brutal invasion.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, on her first visit to Ukraine since Putin’s troops rolled across the border in February 2022, confirmed Australia’s ambassador would return full-time in January, as the country faces growing pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump for the war to end.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko (right), greets Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Kyiv.
Russian forces have rushed to gain an advantage on the battlefield, increasing attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure ahead of Trump entering the White House in January, and heightening alarm in Ukraine that it will be forced to make territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
Trump has been highly critical of billions of dollars of aid that President Joe Biden’s administration has provided to Kyiv to battle Moscow’s invasion.
Wong, the first member of the federal government to visit the capital since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July 2022, also pledged $66 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to assist with Ukraine’s vital recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Another $10 million would also be given in assistance to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to provide heat and electricity for Ukrainians, she said.
Wong said her visit came as a pivotal moment in the war almost three years since Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, decided to invade.
“It matters to Australia because of the principle, which is international law protects us all,” she said. “It also matters to Australia and all in our region, because the security in this part of the world, in Europe, affects also our security in the Indo-Pacific. We saw that in the way in which we now see North Korean fighters fighting for Russia.”
Wong said the West was deeply concerned about what North Korea was getting in return for its assistance and whether Russia would be aiding North Korea in its illegal nuclear industry, which would destabilise and be dangerous for much of the world.
“So Australia stands with Ukraine … This country and its people have demonstrated extraordinary courage, and we often talk about the importance of freedom. Well, the Ukrainian people fight for their freedom every day.”
The Albanese government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been fiercely criticised for their reluctance not to return diplomats to Kyiv, who have instead been based in Warsaw. Nearly 70 countries that left in the days before the invasion had returned within months.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had publicly encouraged Australians to return, while other senior Ukrainians had expressed frustration with the government’s reluctance to do so.
The federal Coalition had made it an election pledge to return as soon as it could, while several Labor MPs were members of a parliamentary committee that was earlier this year critical of the slow pace of return.
Wong, who met with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko during her visit, said the government had always said it would “reopen our embassy in Kyiv when it is safe to do so”.
She also met families at Save Ukraine – a community organisation supporting vulnerable Ukrainian families and children damaged by the conflict – where she pledged $80,000 to help their work.
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