David Van (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to commemorate the recent second anniversary of the illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine. I don't know how many people here yesterday heard the Ukrainian ambassador, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, and the co-chair of the Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Kateryna Argyrou, speak at the National Press Club yesterday. No-one who was there or who heard those speeches could be unmoved by what they said. What they said was about the clear damage to the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian economy that's going on. What they talked about was the damage being done to lives each and every day that this war goes on and on. They spoke about the daily connection from Australia to the troops on the frontline—including the 80th Air Assault Brigade, who I met with when I was in Donetsk.

What they said yesterday was a call to action to Australia, to the Australian government, a call that we need to do more, that not just our partners in the EU, not just NATO partners, not just the US and Canada, but Australia and all these other countries have to contribute more to the war effort in Ukraine. You can't fight a battle of attrition without howitzer shells. You can't fight trench to trench without bullets. You can't win a war without the ammunition and capabilities that you need. Mark my words: this war must be won. Otherwise, we, as freedom-loving democracies, will have let down one of our own and let autocratic rule run all over us.