Australia Backs Ukraine Leader After Trump Attack
By Tess Ikonomou
Australia is standing firm by Ukraine after US President Donald Trump’s attack on its leader, rejecting the criticism that Volodymyr Zelenskiy is a dictator.
Mr Trump slammed the Ukrainian president as a “dictator without elections” and falsely claimed Kyiv had “started” the Russian war.
The US president also incorrectly stated Mr Zelenskiy’s approval rating was down to four per cent.
Asked if Mr Zelenskiy is a dictator, Defence Minister Richard Marles replied “no”.
“I’m not about to give you a running commentary on what President Trump is saying,” he told Nine’s Today on Thursday.
“The Australian position is that we see that the global rules‑based order is under threat by what Russia did in respect of Ukraine.
“We will continue to support Ukraine so that they are able to resolve this conflict on their terms.”
Australia has committed more than $1.5 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion almost three years ago on February 24, 2022.
Richard Marles says Australia sees the global rules‑based order as under threat by Russia’s actions.
Asked if the government was considering sending Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine, Mr Marles said it wasn’t being discussed.
“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before we get to that point,” he said.
“What we need to be doing is standing with Ukraine right now, and that’s the Australian position and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
In a pointed threat to the Ukrainian president, Mr Trump warned he had “better move fast” to reach a peace deal with Russia “or he is not going to have a country left”.
In less than a week since Mr Trump had a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US president’s rhetoric has strained relations with European nations who disagree with his approach to end the conflict.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said any terms for a deal to end the conflict must be acceptable to Ukraine, and also backed Mr Zelenskiy.
“He’s a legitimate, democratically elected leader of Ukraine and he is fighting an unjust, unlawful, unprovoked invasion by Vladimir Putin, who is responsible for initiating this conflict,” Mr Paterson told Nine’s Today.
“The burden falls on Vladimir Putin to stop his invasion, to stop his attack on Ukraine, not on anyone else.”
