Thursday, 24 March 2022

Russia-Ukraine war

Ms KILKENNY (Carrum) (10:02): It is now a month since Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on 24 February. A quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people have been driven from their homes and so many lives lost. Heavy sanctions have been imposed on Russia, and just yesterday the US formally accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine following what appeared to be direct attacks on civilians, including children. Today NATO is meeting in Brussels. Almost incomprehensibly, part of today’s meeting will be spent discussing how the world should respond if Vladimir Putin uses chemical or biological weapons against Ukrainian citizens. But perhaps the question is: how can the world not respond?

My neighbour Marina Morgan is from Ukraine, having moved to Australia eight years ago. She has a young daughter. Marina is from Chernihiv, one of the most ancient cities of Ukraine, about 100 kilometres north of the Ukrainian capital. Today Chernihiv is completely cut off from the capital. The Russians bombed the road bridge, humanitarian aid cannot get in and residents cannot get out. There is no electricity, water or heat. Infrastructure is destroyed. About 100 000 residents are trapped. Marina is raising funds for the women of Ukraine who remain. Please support Marina if you can. What is unfolding in Ukraine is truly terrible. What we need is strong leadership, considered diplomacy, open communication and perhaps most importantly compassion. Marina has this message for all of us: ‘People of my country stand for the safe future of the entire world. And today, as never before, I am proud to be a Ukrainian’.