Don’t let Iran conflict distract from Kyiv
Senior Ukrainian lawmakers used the Canberra visit to warn that the escalating conflict with Iran should not come at the expense of Western support for Kiev, declaring that the outcome of Russia’s invasion would shape global security well beyond Europe.
The delegation, led by Galyna Mykhailiuk, Volodymyr Zelensky’s representative in the Ukrainian parliament, will meet with the federal government and opposition figures this week to press for continued military aid, tighter sanctions against Moscow and deeper cooperation in the defense industry.
Their visit coincides with rising tensions across the Gulf following Iranian drone strikes on several countries, raising concerns that Western arms stockpiles and diplomatic focus could be diverted from Ukraine at a critical stage of the four-year war.
“We are so grateful for every bit of support provided by the government, parliament and the Australian people,” Mykhailiuk said in Parliament House.
“Courage is not enough when you have no means of survival and you are facing the Russian invader. The military and financial support provided by democratic nations helped us preserve our independence, humanity and freedom.”
President Zelensky offered to send Ukraine’s leading anti-drone experts to help Gulf countries targeted by Iranian attacks, and in return asked their leaders to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
Ukraine has developed significant expertise in countering Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which Russia has deployed heavily against its energy grid and populated areas since the start of the full-scale invasion.
But Mykhailiuk said Kiev remains skeptical that Moscow is truly interested in ending the war.
“If the Ukrainians stop the war, we will be occupied. If Russia stops the war, peace will come,” he said. “There’s a big difference in approaches.”
He warned that Russia’s war economy remains fully mobilized, backed by allies including North Korea, and that Moscow shows no sign of abandoning its territorial ambitions.
The delegation’s program in Canberra includes meetings with Trade Minister Don Farrell, Deputy Defense Minister Peter Khalil and opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien, as well as appearing before a joint standing committee and establishing a parliamentary friendship group for Ukraine.
In Canberra, Mykhailiuk was joined by Anastasiia Radina, head of Ukraine’s anti-corruption committee; Oleksii Movchan, deputy chairman of the economic development committee; and Musa Magomedov, who chairs Kiev’s industrial policy subcommittee, underlined his focus not just on weapons and sanctions, but also on clean governance, economic reform and wartime rebuilding of the industrial base.
Mykhailiuk called on Australia to maintain and strengthen sanctions against Russia and consider diverting frozen Russian assets towards Ukrainian reconstruction and domestic arms production.
“Our companies have the capacity to increase production. They just need financing,” he said, arguing that countries such as Australia have scope to finance purchasing arrangements that would allow weapons to be produced in Ukraine.
He also acknowledged a shift in US support, with Kiev increasingly needing to purchase ammunition rather than relying on donations.
“We have to buy everything,” he said. “There is a lot of room for collaboration.”
Framing the conflict in strategic terms for an Indo-Pacific audience, he argued that failure to hold Russia accountable would embolden other authoritarian regimes.
“We believe that if the aggressor sees that there is no accountability, he will implement his invasion plans for other regions,” he said. “The fate of the democratic world is being resolved in Ukraine.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced a new sanctions package against Russia last week to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the war. Fuel importers have been warned for the first time that they could breach Australian sanctions law by importing Russian oil processed in third countries.
The federal government also provided $1.7 billion in military aid, humanitarian aid and energy aid to Ukraine.
But experts warned a Senate committee last month that Australia’s support for Ukraine was weakening due to gaps in the sanctions regime. Since 2022, Australia has imported about $24.7 billion worth of oil from countries that refine Russian crude, generating an estimated $2.5 billion in tax revenue for the Kremlin, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday night that parliament’s Friends of Ukraine committee had been established and said the government was determined to focus on the war.
“We cannot let Mr. Putin make this the new normal,” Wong said. “We must stand with the Ukrainian people. So our Ukrainian friends, please know that you have Australia’s support and you have our friendship.”
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Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
