Former Prime Minister Says Russia Cannot Be Allowed to Defeat Ukraine

Former Prime Minister of Australia and Adviser to the UK Board of Trade, Tony Abbott attends the veterans march at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia on April 25, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott is concerned the Australian government has not done more to support Ukraine and warned the world is more dangerous than people think.

Mr. Abbott said if Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine, all the countries in Eastern Europe could be at risk.

“Moldova, Georgia, the Baltic States, Poland—because this is what he sees as his personal destiny to recreate greater Russia,” Mr. Abbott said in an interview with the Institute of Public Affairs.

The leader said he is embarrassed and even a little “ashamed” that Australia had not done more the help the Ukraine.

“Yes under Scott Morrison we provided around 100 Bushmasters, yes at the beginning of the Albanese government we agreed to help train the Ukrainian infantry in Britain,” he said.

But there has “been almost nothing” since, Mr. Abbott added, noting that Australia could have sent hundreds more military equipment items to Ukraine.

“We have about 1,000 Bushmasters, some 100 of which we could regularly make available to the Ukrainians. We have about 1,000 Hawkei, light armoured vehicles, some hundreds of which we could readily make available to the Ukrainians,” the former Liberal Party prime minister said.

“Shamefully, instead of giving them the Taipan helicopters that came out of service last year, we stripped them and buried the air frames,” he added.

“There was a request over the northern winter for coal to help keep the lights on in Ukraine, and presumably because of climate obsessions we wouldn’t even meet that.”

Mr. Abbott explained Australia should sometimes act out of self respect and should do things “dictators won’t like” to remain a robust sovereign nation.

A New Iron Curtain, Abbott Warns

Mr. Abbott said Russia cannot be allowed to win in Ukraine, because it could result in “a new Iron Curtain in Europe.”

“And Europe will become a focus of the new Cold War which is now raging as the world breaks up into dictatorial and democratic camps,” Mr. Abbott said.

The former prime minister also said Mr. Putin and CCP President Xi Jinping were the “new axis.”

“They are allies of convenience. In times past there’s been a lot of antagonism between Russia and China. But nevertheless they are both dead set on smashing the Pax Americana which over the last 70 years ... has made the world more free, more fair, more rich and more safe than in any time in human history.”

He also added that it was good the U.S. government had finally relented and approved a major $50 billion loan to Ukrainians from frozen Russian assets.

“The Ukrainians were running very short of ammunition for quite a period there. That’s now improving, but still, it enabled the Russians to gain significant ground in the eastern Ukraine.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised current President Joe Biden’s sizeable support for Ukraine, saying at a campaign rally in Detroit that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the “greatest salesman of all time.”

President Trump vowed to “have [the matter] settled” if elected in November.

$1.1 Billion of Australia Aid to the Ukraine

The Australian government has delivered more than $1 billion worth of support to the Ukraine, Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed on June 14, including $880 million in military assistance, and $85 million in humanitarian help.

In addition, more than 1,200 targeted sanctions have been imposed against Russia.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on June 14, “Australia strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we will continue to support Ukraine to end the war on its own terms.”

“We will continue to consistently condemn Russia’s invasion, which is an attack on the U.N. Charter—a Charter which protects all nations, including Australia.”

In April 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles visited the Ukraine and unveiled a $100 million assistance package to coincide with the trip.

Mr. Marles met with the Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk.

World is A More Dangerous Place

Mr. Abbott said the state of the world is “not that encouraging if the truth is known” more widely in the public.

“We here in Australia have a wonderful life by comparison to almost any other country, but we can’t take it for granted,” he said.

“I think that’s the main takeout from my trip overseas, that the world is a more dangerous place .. we need to be very conscious of that and very ready for a whole range of contingencies that we haven’t been thinking about.”

His comments echo that of former federal attorney general and colleague, George Brandis, who also expressed concern about the dearth of “awareness and consciousness” about Australia’s global responsibilities.

“The debate about Australia’s position in the world, our position in the region, foreign policy, and strategic policy generally, is a debate that tends to go over the head of the general public,” he told an audience in Brisbane on June 12.

He said in the country’s capital, the “national security community” was relatively small and featured few commentators and experts.

“Relative to other sophisticated democracies, it is proportionately very small,” he said.