Doorstop Kyiv, Ukraine

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: It's a real honour and privilege to be here in Ukraine, in Kyiv. I come at a pivotal moment, a critical moment in this war, in Russia's illegal and immoral war against Ukraine and its people. This is almost three years now since Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council made a decision to invade Ukraine, contrary to the UN Charter, a breach of the international law which protects us all.

And as you have heard me say, this war matters to Australia. It matters to Australia because of the principle which is international law protects us all. It also matters to Australia and all in our region because the security in this part of the world, in Europe, affects also our security in the Indo-Pacific. We saw that in the way in which we now see North Korean fighters fighting for Russia, a sign of Russia's escalation and Russia's desperation. And we are deeply concerned about what North Korea is getting for this assistance, whether or not Russia will be assisting North Korea in its illegal nuclear industry, which would be a breach of the UN Charter and would destabilise and be dangerous for so much of the world.

So, Australia stands with Ukraine. We are proud to be the largest non-NATO military contributor to Ukraine. I'm very honoured and privileged to be here. This country and its people have demonstrated extraordinary courage, and we often talk about the importance of freedom, well the Ukrainian people fight for their freedom every day. Happy to take questions.

Journalist: On Vanuatu, an update on that overnight?

Foreign Minister: Thank you. Well, first, as you know, there's been a dreadful earthquake in Vanuatu in excess of something 7.2-magnitude, and there has been widespread damage. We have been engaging with the Vanuatu authorities, including my counterpart, the Foreign Minister. Australia has dispatched a number of teams, a disaster response team, medical teams, and also emergency management experts to help with the coordination of managing this disaster. So, I understand a C-17 and a Hercules have departed Australia for Vanuatu. We will continue to liaise with them. There are also quite a number of Australians in Vanuatu. I know this is a distressing time. We have teams now available to assist and we are saying to Australians, if you need further assistance, we do encourage you to please contact the Consular Emergency Centre in Australia.

Journalist: Israel's Foreign Minister has accused Australia of weakening its support following your phone call with him. What would you say about that?

Foreign Minister: I'd say a number of things. First, I would say Australia, alongside the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and many other countries, have been calling for a ceasefire for the release of hostages and for the provision of aid into Gaza. That is the position we have been articulating and that's the position that I reflected to the Israeli Foreign Minister. What I would say is this; we hope there will be a ceasefire soon, which enables the release of hostages and aid to flow into Gaza because we know that the humanitarian catastrophe is so great.

Journalist: And following the assassination in Moscow, which Ukraine has claimed, are you concerned now that you're arriving here against that backdrop?

Foreign Minister: This is not – I can't comment on unconfirmed reports. I would just say we are in the middle of a conflict, and we understand that Russia's invasion is both illegal and immoral.

Journalist: Just quickly, one for me, can I ask why has it taken so long for you to come here personally, Minister? Because there have been many Foreign Ministers in Kyiv since the war began almost three years ago.

Foreign Minister: Yeah. So, I think you've seen each year a senior member of the government has come to Ukraine. The first year was the Prime Minister, the second year was the Deputy Prime Minister. And now I'm here and it's a great honour to be here. Thank you very much.