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Marles, who also met his Polish counterpart, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, in Warsaw before crossing the border, announced last month that Australia would join the British and Latvian plan to provide thousands of drones to Ukraine, spurring on competition among Western nations to harness technology and drive down the equipment’s production cost.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was in Gallipoli (pictured) on Anzac Day before going to Poland and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning earlier this month highlighting the looming possibility of his country running out of its air defence missiles due to Russia’s intense long-range bombing campaign. He has also admitted that Ukraine does not have enough ammunition for a counter-offensive against Russia but has started to receive some for defensive purposes.
Marles’ visit, the first by an Australian government member since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July 2022, goes some way to addressing the growing criticism towards Australia’s level of support for Ukraine.
While more than $880 million has been sent to Kyiv, including armoured vehicles such as the Bushmaster, unmanned aerial systems and artillery ammunition, Australia’s contribution is just 0.041 per cent of GDP. In comparison, Denmark – which has an economy 25 per cent the size of Australia’s – has pledged $9.3 billion in military aid or nearly 2 per cent of its GDP.
Canada, with an economy 1.25 times larger than Australia, has pledged $6.1 billion or 0. 3 per cent of its GDP.
The Labor government has also faced internal criticism for Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s refusal to reopen Australia’s embassy in Kyiv more than two years since it closed at the start of the war. Sixty-seven of the 81 countries which temporarily closed their missions have since returned.
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Michael Fullilove, the executive director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, wrote in the Australian Financial Review at the weekend that research, to be released in June, revealed that three-quarters of Australians (76 per cent) would support reopening the embassy.
He said support also remained high for providing military aid to Ukraine (74 per cent), accepting Ukrainian refugees into Australia (80 per cent), and maintaining strict sanctions on Russia (86 per cent).
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