Ukraine’s ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko appeals for Australian support to avoid Russian victory

Kyiv’s top diplomat in Canberra has issued an impassioned plea to Australia to help prevent a Russian victory in its war with Ukraine that could have dire consequences for the entire world.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko’s appeal to the Australian Government, in an interview with The Nightly, comes amid growing calls from security experts for Canberra to be “seen and heard” in its support for Ukraine over fears that Kyiv could be excluded from a US deal with Russia about its own future.

The Ukrainian envoy warned that the consequences of rewarding a “dictator” like Vladimir Putin who had been “killing Ukrainians in large numbers, raping Ukrainian women, kidnapping Ukrainian kids, using chemical weapons,” would have security ramifications far beyond European shores.

“How secure are you? That’s the question everybody should be asking. If transatlantic security is undermined or changes, why do you think you have any security at all in Australia?” he said.

“Because if North Korea is going to get nuclear weapons in exchange for its support of Russia, that will not only undermine the security of the Korean Peninsula, it will undermine the security of the entire region. How is Australia going to deal with that?”

Mr Myroshnychenko made his comments as tensions grow between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy about how to end the three-year war with Russia and rising uncertainty about continued US support for Ukrainian democracy that has left Australia, Europe and other democratic allies of Kyiv scrambling to respond.

The crisis was at a “pivotal moment for everybody”, said the ambassador.

Any challenge to the US alliance with Europe that had been the backbone of European security since 1949 would have “drastic” implications, he said.

“We want to see the end of the war more than everybody else. We want it over. We want to have a sustainable, robust peace … but it needs to be fair,” he said.

“Because if it’s not, the risk of what can happen otherwise, we’ll get just a bigger war at a different scale with more countries involved. And that war can trickle down to your shores very quickly.”

The Ambassador said Kyiv was grateful to Australia and other allies for responding with “phenomenal speed to help Ukraine” with military and other assistance to help Ukraine survive after Russia invaded in February 2022.

But he also urged Canberra to step up its efforts “to help us rally support in the Pacific.”

“Australia can continue sending us military material, as they have been doing for the past three years. Australia could train more troops. Australia could help us develop our critical minerals, together with American companies,” he said.

“Australia can help us rebuild Ukraine. Australia can help us keep Russia accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity in the multilateral system.”

Assisting Ukraine was simply “the right thing to do,” said Mr Myroshnychenko.

“Helping Ukraine is supporting a democracy which is being ruined and destroyed. This is helping David respond to Goliath,” he added.

“Liberal democracies are under attack. Authoritarian leaders are trying to destroy democracies, trying to dismantle them. This is what they’re doing, and we have to stick together. Because if you don’t, we will just disappear.”

On Thursday, a news conference scheduled to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US special envoy Lt General Keith Kellogg was cancelled as the political divide deepened between the two countries about how to end the three-year conflict.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had demanded a “reliable and clear system of security guarantees” before any peace deal could be struck with Russia, which sparked international outrage when it invaded its neighbour on February 24, 2022.

The media event was originally supposed to include statements from both the US and Ukraine but it was changed to a simple photo opportunity at the last minute after a request by Washington, in a hint at the ongoing tensions between the two nations.

Gen. Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv followed a bruising exchange between Mr Trump, who called his Ukrainian counterpart “a dictator without elections,” and Mr Zelenskyy’s retort that the US president was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

As one of Mr Trump’s top advisers on defence issues, Gen. Kellogg is a staunch supporter of an “America First” national security agenda, but the Ukrainian leader still emerged from their talks saying it “restores hope.”

Even though we are not a major power like the US and China, we are a regional power. We have significant influence.

He wrote on his Telegram channel that the meeting had produced a “good conversation, lots of details,” and had broached security guarantees for Ukraine and the return of Ukrainian prisoners from Russian custody.

We can and must make peace reliable and lasting so that Russia can never return with war again,” he said. “Ukraine is ready for a strong, truly beneficial agreement with the President of the United States on investments and security.”

The spat erupted after Mr Trump suddenly upended US policy on isolating Moscow by calling President Vladimir Putin and giving the green light for American and Russian officials to discuss a peace deal in Saudi Arabia without inviting Ukraine or its European supporters.

A later statement by Mr Trump blaming Kyiv for starting the war – a favourite Kremlin propaganda line – cast doubt on continued US support for Ukraine and sealed the disruption to traditional alliances.

Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said Australia had to be “seen and heard” in its support for Europe and Ukraine amid growing fears that Kyiv could be excluded from a peace deal with Russia about its own future.

“We do actually have an obligation not to play a small target,” he said.

“Even though we are not a major power like the US and China, we are a regional power. We have significant influence,” he said.

Australia should reassure Europe of its support and not shy from criticising President Trump, said Mr Bassi.

It was important that Canberra made “crystal clear” its support for Ukraine and explained “very clearly to our American allies why they got it wrong.”