In aiding Ukraine, we protect our own freedoms too, writes Alastair Walton

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 43rd Artillery Brigade works on a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000 towards Russian positions at a front line near Bakhmut, Donetsk region on June 15.

The Ukrainians’ existential struggle against the tyranny of Russia’s autocratic kleptocracy is a defining moment in modern history. An unlikely Ukrainian defeat would be a geopolitical catastrophe and, as such, Australia should and can do more to assist Ukraine.

So, what are they asking from us? Well, not that much as it turns out and nothing we cannot provide them without stretching our own defence capabilities.

Ukraine is asking us for tanks. We have not deployed a tank since the Vietnam War and we have 59 M1A1 Abrams that we are highly unlikely to deploy in the foreseeable future. We also have Bushmasters, drones and ammunition that they need. We also ought to afford the Ukrainians the respect of an open and functioning Australian embassy in Kyiv. Our embassy in Kyiv is shared with the Canadians; they are back and we are not. Our ambassador, through no fault of his own, has been sent to Poland, undertaking nothing more than a faux role.

It is in our national interest to do all we reasonably can to support Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression. It is in our interests for hard-headed geopolitical and value-based reasons. The half-hearted nature of our current response is disappointing.

In Kyiv, where I was recently, the embassies of all our major allies are open and providing the symbolic role of support to the Ukrainian people that is one of their main functions. We are absent and it shows.

As Yuriy Sak, the adviser to Ukraine’s Defence Minister, said to me: “You have the same chance of being hit by a Russian drone attack in Kyiv as you have of going to Las Vegas and winning $1m on a slot machine.” We have had Australian embassies in Kabul and Baghdad in far more dangerous circumstances, albeit supported by the Australian Defence Force.

Equally, we have a fully functioning Australian embassy in Tel Aviv that is constantly subject to the threat of missile and other attacks, and no one is suggesting we close it. Nor when our embassy in Jakarta was under serious threat from terrorism did the government suggest we shut the doors.

The current approach not only lets down Ukraine and its people but also undermines our own values in the face of tyranny and aggres­sion. Ukraine has been sustained in its war against Russia by the military, economic and diplomatic support of other like-minded nations, especially the US, Britain, France, Germany and Poland.

Our AUKUS partner, Britain, is facing enormous domestic challenges including the economic consequences of Brexit, a failing health service, a pensions crisis, a housing affordability crisis and rolling strikes affecting public transport and airports. By comparison, Australia’s domestic challenges seem relatively benign. But, despite this, Britain’s support for Ukraine from the public and its political establish­ment has been strong and unwavering. This has made an enormous difference in the conflict.

While no country can match the resources of the US in the provision of financial, military, intelligence and logistical support, Britain can be rightfully proud of its extraordinary contribution to Ukraine especially given its own difficult circumstances. This has enhanced its reputation in Europe and the US as an upholder of a rules-based international order with its deeds as well as its words. It also has been active in the Indo-Pacific where Chinese aggression against Taiwan is a live issue.

Our democratic freedoms and values are under challenge in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. A free and open Europe that includes Ukraine needs to be seen by Australia as crucial to maintaining a rules-based global order. A Russian victory in Ukraine would have been catastrophic in its consequences for European security. It also would have had profound global knock-on consequences.

Instead, NATO has been reinvigorated and enhanced by its efforts to support Ukraine together with the addition of Finland and soon Sweden (Turkey willing), both which have advanced and highly capable militaries.

To put it bluntly, NATO’s renaissance, which materially helps Australia’s strategic interests, has been achieved through the sacrifice of thousands of Ukrainian men and women who have lost their lives across the past year. They had no choice and they died supporting freedom and democracy in the same way Australians sacrificed their lives in Europe for a similar cause during the two world wars.

Once this war is over, Europe’s security architecture, of necessity, will require Ukraine to be part of both NATO and the EU. It will be the final piece of the jigsaw of the dismembering of the Soviet Union and the end of the Iron Curtain more than three decades ago.

And when Ukraine does join NATO it, like Poland today, will play a disproportionate role because it has, to quote retired Australian major general Mick Ryan, the best army in the world and one that we are learning many lessons from. It is therefore critical that at this dark time we support Ukraine, as not only is it the right thing to do but it is also most unquestionably in our long-term national interest.

Alastair Walton was Australia’s consul general to Houston, Texas from 2015 to 2017 and to New York from 2017 to 2020.