Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 24 February 2022, after months of Western intelligence agency warnings and Russian denials, the armed forces of Russia invaded the land of Ukraine. We saw on TV live pictures of helicopter landings in Hostomel Airport, armoured columns advancing on suburbs and cities and the Ukrainian population filling bottles of Molotov cocktails, sending children away from their homes and arming themselves in response. In what was meant to be a three-day easy victory, as we heard, we are now on day 377, and they retain control of a very small portion of Ukrainian sovereign territory.

We have seen war crimes, we have seen targeting of civilians, we have seen and been reminded of the horrors of war over and over again, in Bucha, in Mariupol and now in Bakhmut. Even overnight there was a video of a Ukrainian prisoner of war being executed on camera. His last words were, 'Glory to Ukraine.' But we have also seen the best of humanity, people coming together in unity of purpose, helping each other, protecting their country, their way of life, working to survive.

Across the globe there has been humanitarian military aid in response to the needs of Ukrainians and their government. Just hours after the invasion, President Zelenskyy was quoted as saying: 'The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.' The world has heard that, and it has answered. The people of Ukraine, inspired by its armed forces and political leadership, turned the tables and drove the invaders completely out of western Ukraine, with the famous tractor corp of Ukraine claiming hundreds of pieces of military equipment that could be repaired and then reused against the invaders.

The world is not fuelling Ukraine's ability to fight. Ukraine's ability to fight is fuelling the world's appetite to stand up for what is right and what is wrong. I searched for better words than those of the German foreign minister, but I couldn't find them. She said: 'If Russia stops fighting, the war stops. If Ukraine stops fighting, there is no more Ukraine. It is that simple.'

But this is not going to be a defeat of Russia. It is a defeat of decency, it is a defeat of diplomacy and it is a defeat of humanity. We must do better. Russia has a right to its own security and to feel safe within its own borders. It does not, however, have any right to act with such hostility across and within the borders of another sovereign country. That is not the way to achieve this.

To Russia I say: tell the world what security you need to pull all of your forces and all of your arms back to the borders of '91. What can the world do to stop sending the sons of the Rodina to their deaths? What can the world do to halt your illegal, immoral and corrupt slaughter of the innocent and the destruction of such beautiful, historical and productive lands? It's not just the future of Ukraine you hold in your hands; it is the future potential of Russia. No-one wants to see a generation of young men taken away from their families, their homes and their jobs. These men that Russia is sending to their slaughter deserve so much better than that. The Stalinist phrase 'quantity has a quality all of its own' should not be measured in body bags.

This war must end because no-one will win it. The war must end with guaranteed safety of Ukraine and Russia within their own borders, and in Australia we've done our bit. We have sent our aid, we have sent our arms, we are sending our training and we have sent our love and support to Ukraine. Respected independent open source intelligence like ORIX has observed the loss of six of our Bushmasters and three of our M113 APCs. It is likely that more has been lost, but we have seen these put to action and the crime is that people have died while they were in them. We must continue to seek opportunities to assist the Ukrainians, we must continue to seek opportunities to support peace and when all of this madness ends we must seek opportunities to support reconstruction and reconciliation, for the absence of armed conflict does not in itself represent peace.

But the war rages on. People are dying today, they will die tomorrow and the risk is we will all become so used to it that we become desensitised to it, we stop caring and we stop helping. I say to Ukraine: I will not stop caring, Australia will not stop helping. We must do whatever it takes to deliver peace to your country and your people, and please, until that day, stay safe, fight hard, and we salute you.