Putin eyeing more than Ukraine, PM warns
Anthony Albanese has issued a grim warning about Vladimir Putin’s ambitions.
Vladimir Putin is eyeing more than just Ukraine, Anthony Albanese has warned after a call with European leaders.
The Prime Minister overnight joined a virtual meeting with fellow leaders backing the Coalition of the Willing – a group of Western democracies open to deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine once the fighting stops.
The UK and France are leading the initiative, and Mr Albanese earlier this year said he would consider sending troops at their request.
Describing the call as a “very constructive meeting”, he said the leaders discussed Donald Trump’s summit with the Russian President at the weekend.
Overnight, I joined a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing convened by @Keir_Starmer and @EmmanuelMacron, alongside President @ZelenskyyUa and other democratic leaders.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 18, 2025
Australia remains committed to supporting Ukraine and it was an opportunity to discuss next steps in…
“I think everyone was enthusiastic about … pushing and pursuing peace,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.
Asked if he was hopeful, he was not convinced.
“We will wait and see,” he said.
“We know Mr Putin has designs on, not just, I think, on Ukraine, and … there is certainly a lack of trust between Mr Putin and European and other leaders of democracies.”
Closer to home, Russia has in recent weeks carried out joint naval exercises with the Chinese.
Earlier this year, it also tried to position bombers at an Indonesian air base a short flight from Darwin.
Mr Albanese went on to say “the world has been very clear that this is an illegal and immoral invasion of a sovereign nation”.
“The Ukrainian people have shown courage and resilience in resisting a much more powerful neighbour,” Mr Albanese said.
“When the war began, people expected it to go for weeks.
“It’s now gone for years, and that is a great sacrifice, of course, … by the Ukrainian people.”
He added that Australia had joined the “the rest of the democratic world in providing military support to Ukraine so that they can fight for their sovereignty”.
The US President’s “Pursuing Peace” summit has been heavily criticised.
It excluded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fuelling fears Kyiv could be sidelined.
But it appears Mr Zelenskyy did not miss much.
While both Mr Trump and Mr Putin praised their lengthy chat, they emerged with little more than pledges to keep talking.
The only concrete results were photo-ops for Mr Putin, who got a red-carpet welcome and pictures shaking hands with Mr Trump while the war in Ukraine raged on.
On the day of the summit, Mr Trump was uncharacteristically hesitant to reveal too much, but administration officials have since revealed more of what was discussed.
Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s chief negotiator, told CNN Mr Putin conceded to let the US “offer Article 5-like protection (to Ukraine), which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO”.
NATO’s Article 5 considers an attack on one member of the alliance an attack on all.
Though, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio somewhat tempered expectations, telling NBC “there’ll have to be some security guarantees for Ukraine” but that ending the war was some way off.
Mr Trump broke his silence on Monday (AEST), posting on social media that Ukraine would not get Crimea back, which Russia annexed in 2014.
He also ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote.
“Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE.
“Some things never change!!!”
During his Sky appearance, Mr Albanese was asked about Mr Trump’s comments.
“It is a good thing that the President of the United States has been an advocate for peace in the region,” he said.
“That’s a good thing, that’s what everyone wants to see.
“The Ukrainian people, though, as a sovereign nation, can’t be excluded from a say, and that’s why … President Trump has advocated bringing the parties together at some stage.”
Ukraine has lost nearly 400,000 troops since Russia invaded in February, 2022, according to research from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The think tank put the death toll at just under 1 million for Russia.
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Originally published as Putin eyeing more than Ukraine, PM warns
