March 3, 2025
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has linked Ukraine's war against Russia directly to upholding the rule of international law and Australia's national interest while leaving the door open to providing more financial and military support to the war-torn nation.
Amid the global fallout from the heated argument in the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump, Albanese described Zelensky as a hero leading a brave nation.
Trump and his Vice-President J.D Vance berated Zelensky, who Trump accused of ''gambling with World War Three'' and of not wanting an end to the conflict that has killed at least 43,000 Ukrainians and an estimated 100,000 Russian soldiers.
Albanese, campaigning in western Sydney yesterday, said the survival of Ukraine was important both to the entire international order and to Australia.
''They have shown great bravery, and President Zelensky has shown leadership,'' he said.
''Ukraine is defending its national sovereignty, but it's also defending the rule of law, and that is why Australia has a national interest in providing support.''
One of the reasons behind Trump's argument with Zelensky is the cost of the ongoing war.
Trump claims the US has delivered $US350 billion in support while most independent analysts put it at closer to $US120 billion.
At the weekend, the British government announced a 2.26 billion ($4.6 billion) bilateral loan agreement with Ukraine, with the money coming from Russian assets frozen by Britain soon after the start of the war.
Albanese said Australia had so far provided $1.5 billion in support, Zelensky lauded of which $1.3 billion was for military and defence resources.
He signalled more could be provided.
During the White House meeting, Vance who has never visited Ukraine accused Zelensky of using visiting international leaders as part of a ''propaganda'' campaign to win support for his country.
The accusation of propaganda trips has been used extensively by the Russian media since the war began.
Albanese, who visited the devastated Ukraine towns of Bucha and Irpin soon after his election in 2022, defended the trip.
''I was welcomed there by President Zelensky. I regarded it as an honour to represent Australia during that visit,'' he said.
The Coalition's home affairs spokesman, James Paterson, said despite the ''spectacular theatre'' of the White House argument, the US would still play an important role in securing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
''It's very hard to see how peace can be durable if there isn't American leadership, if there isn't an American security guarantee,'' he told the ABC. ''That does seem to be something that is part of the negotiations between Zelensky and Trump.
''We're all hopeful that that is able to be achieved.''
Shadow defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the White House incident highlighted the change in America's approach to diplomatic relations.
''I think what we saw in the Oval Office is a very different US approach to security and trade. I think President Trump is rebalancing the terms of trade and security, and that has implications for Australia,'' he told Sky News.
''We need to demonstrate a strong hand. President Trump studies your cards very closely, and I think he wants to know that his allies have a strong hand.''
