Defence Minister Peter Dutton has again ruled out sending Australian troops to Ukraine as he warnxjmtzyws a war with Russia is inevitable.
Speaking following reports from US intelligence that President Vladimir Putin has made a strike order, Mr Dutton said an invasion would have a “knock-on effect” for the world.
“Troops continue to build up, the presence of the shifts in the Black Sea, the cyber attacks, the false flag activity, it is all pointing in one direction sadly,” he told the
“We just don't want to see women and children as the victims of another war, but it seems that is the path that Vladimir Putin is set on embarking.”
Reports out of the US suggest about three-quarters of Russia’s total armed forces have been deployed to the Ukraine border.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS the US was convinced Russia was “moving forward” with invasion plans.
“Everything we’re seeing tells us that the decision we believe President Putin has made to invade is moving forward,” Mr Blinken said.
While Australia will not commit to military assistance, Mr Dutton said Australia lend support in other capacities.
“We are not sending troops to Ukraine. But there are ways in which we can provide assistance and there may be some cyber activities that we are able to support,” he said.
“It may be the case that we are able to send some support otherwise to Ukraine, but we will assess that as it unfolds.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would always stand up to “authoritarian autocrats who think they can bully others.”
Foreign Minister Marise Payne met with her Ukraine counterpart on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany.
Dmytro Kuleba said he was “grateful to Australia for standing by Ukraine at this tense time of the security crisis created by Russia”.
Overnight, Australia joined with the US and the UK to publicly attribute a cyber attack on the Ukrainian banking sector to the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate.
“Australia condemns Russian cyber attacks against Ukraine and has established a Bilateral Cyber Dialogue and further cyber security training,” Senator Payne said.
