Richard Marles would be the first government minister to visit Ukraine since Anthony Albanese travelled to Kyiv in July 2022 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Defence Minister Richard Marles is preparing to travel to Ukraine in a show of support aimed at combating claims of faltering Australian support for Ukraine’s war against Russia.
A visit by the deputy prime minister, who has long expressed interest in travelling to Ukraine, would be warmly welcomed by the Ukrainian government and local advocates who have grown increasingly despondent at Australia’s level of military support. Marles is expected to use his trip to announce details of Australia’s contribution to the Ukraine “drone coalition”, an international initiative to boost the nation’s drone supplies led by the United Kingdom and Latvia.
Yet Australian diplomats, including new ambassador Paul Lehmann, remain based in the Polish capital of Warsaw. Labor MP Julian Hill said: “It’s increasingly perplexing why Australia’s ambassador to Ukraine hasn’t returned to Kyiv, along with our defence attaché and liaison on the ground.Kate Geraghty
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