The ambassador to Ukraine, Paul Lehmann, and the deputy head of mission will return to Kyiv in January, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said from the nation’s capital on Thursday.
Wong visited Australia’s embassy in Kyiv, which was closed by the former Morrison government in 2022 at the outbreak of war against Russia.
“The Albanese government has always said we would reopen our embassy in Kyiv when it is safe to do so,” she said.
A cross-party parliamentary inquiry in November said there was a “strong case” for a return of a physical diplomatic presence, pointing to 70 other nations that have reopened their embassies.
Wong met Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, her counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, and the energy minister, Herman Halushchenko.
In a statement, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations’s co-chair Kateryna Argyrou welcomed Wong’s visit.
“Setting foot on Ukrainian soil, spending time in the capital, having first-hand conversations with Ukrainians, is the only way to understand what is happening on the ground in Ukraine. To be in Ukraine is to feel the impact of Russia’s war.”
Australia will provide $66m to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development to help Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Another $10m will go to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, to provide heat and electricity for civilians.
Wong said what happens to Ukraine matters to Australia.
“Ukraine’s fight against Russia has consequences for our national security and the security of the Indo-Pacific,” she said.
“Today and every day, Australia stands with Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.”
Argyrou said Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decisions had far reaching consequences for Australia and its neighbours.
“The closer ties between North Korea, China and Russia through the provision to Russia of North Korean missiles and ammunition, Chinese dual use goods and even North Korean troops, does not bode well for security in our region.
“Australia’s security depends on respect for rules, norms, international law and human rights, as well as a commitment to not use force to resolve differences, so actively standing up for those values is important.”
The foreign affairs minister also met people at community organisation Save Ukraine – which supports vulnerable families and children – where she announced $80,000 in funding.
The parliamentary inquiry also found Defence and the foreign affairs department should set up a “one-stop-shop” to streamline Australia’s support of Ukraine.
Labor was strongly criticised after the scrapped MRH-90 Taipan helicopters were dismantled and buried, rather than donated to Ukraine for its war effort.
