Tim Smith travels to Kyiv, slams ongoing Australian embassy closure

London: Former Victorian state MP Tim Smith has joined a growing number of Australian voices calling for the federal government to reinstate its diplomatic presence in war-torn Ukraine, as he made a surprise visit to the country’s capital.

Smith, who resigned from Victorian parliament amid a drink-drive scandal two years ago, joined his friend, Australian business leader Alistair Walton, in Kyiv on Tuesday where the pair met with Ukraine’s ambassador to Canberra.

Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, with former Victorian MP Tim Smith and one-time Australian consul-general to New York Alastair Walton in Kyiv on Tuesday.Credit: Instagram: @timsmithmp

The former shadow attorney-general has been based in London since leaving politics, where he is pursuing further studies and establishing himself as a current affairs commentator in the British media. He travelled to the Ukrainian capital along with Walton – a former investment banker and one-time Australian consul-general to New York – earlier this week on a 15-hour train ride from Warsaw.

Canberra has come under pressure to relocate its ambassador to Kyiv in line with other allies after shifting the diplomatic mission to Poland at the start of the conflict. Most countries, including Australia, removed their diplomats from Ukraine before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, but more than 12 months after the invasion, at least 67 of the 81 diplomatic missions that left the Ukrainian capital have now gone back.

“It’s a disgrace that Australia has abandoned its embassy in Kyiv, whilst our key allies like the Canadians, British and Americans are all back in Kyiv sending a message to the Russians that they won’t be intimated by genocidal and unprovoked warfare on a free people,” Smith said.

“Where the bloody hell are we?”

He posted a video on social media standing outside the vacant embassy, saying he was visiting the city to express his solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

At senate estimates earlier this month, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Jan Adams defended the fact that the Kyiv embassy, which is shared with the Canadians, was yet to reopen.

Adams said no Australian embassies were open in active war zones “and certainly none that have drone and missile strikes occurring”.

She said relocating back to Kyiv required a robust assessment of security, which had recently deteriorated. Unlike some NATO countries, she said Australia did not have a defence presence within Ukraine.

“As soon as the conditions allow, I would be very pleased to relocate back into Kyiv,” she said.

Smith last week briefly flirted with a shock return to politics, when he told this masthead he was considering entering the race to replace Warrandyte MP Ryan Smith, who announced his resignation on Wednesday.

The electorate takes in the suburbs of Doncaster East, Donvale, Ringwood North, Warrandyte and Wonga Park.

But Smith said he would now throw his support behind former Institute of Public Affairs boss, John Roskam, who announced on Tuesday he would be nominating himself for the Liberal preselection for the seat.

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