Greens leader David Shoebridge warned the Ukrainian-Australian community not to get the minor party offside during a tense meeting after being challenged over the Greens’ opposition to providing military aid to defend against Russian aggression.
The Greens’ stance has divided the party, with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young breaking with Shoebridge to declare her support for Australia helping to arm the Ukrainian military.
Shoebridge is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko on Friday as the Greens leader tries to quell a growing backlash to his party’s stance, which shocked many supporters and the Ukrainian diaspora.
Shoebridge told this masthead after winning the leadership earlier this month: “The Greens have been clear from day one that we’re a party of peace and non-violence, and we don’t support military aid to the Ukraine.”
He said the party would support providing military aid to Ukraine if it were backed by a United Nations Security Council resolution, but critics have noted Russia would inevitably use its veto power to block any such move.
Leaders from three Ukrainian-Australian groups – the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Ukrainian Council of NSW and the Ukrainian Community of Queensland – challenged Shoebridge on his position in an online meeting on Friday.
Their advocacy drew a rebuke from the frustrated leader who urged them not to alienate the Greens.
“Don’t burn your bridges. You need allies, and we are an ally,” Shoebridge said, according to sources familiar with the meeting who asked to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive matters.
The community leaders responded by saying they valued their relationship with the Greens, but they believed advocating for military aid to Ukraine was essential as the country faces ferocious bombardments from Russia.
A Russian strike on a bus stop in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk last week killed at least 33 people and injured another 18 civilians.
Asked about the meeting, Shoebridge said: “I won’t be discussing what was a confidential briefing with three different Ukrainian Australian associations.
“But what I can tell you is that what we would say in a private briefing and what we would say here is the same.
“The Greens have a long-standing commitment to working with the Australian-Ukrainian community in solidarity against this appalling invasion in Russia.”
Shoebridge said the Greens had received “incredibly strong support from the Ukrainian-Australian community” for its call for Australia to join the European Union by closing loopholes on imports of Russian-origin oil.
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations said following the meeting with Shoebridge that they had “a frank and constructive exchange about the Greens’ policy, its impact on the Ukrainian community and how Australia can best support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion”.
“We urge Senator Shoebridge and the Greens to reconsider their opposition to military aid and ensure Ukraine receives all the practical support it needs to survive and win its fight for freedom,” the federation said in a Facebook post.
A spokesperson for the federation said it could not comment on private conversations with politicians.
Coalition defence spokesman James Paterson said: “Ukrainian-Australians have every right to advocate for the life-saving assistance needed to defend civilians and cities from nightly Russian missile and drone attacks ... David Shoebridge’s claim to have ever been an ally is laughable given he wants to hand Vladimir Putin a veto over Australian military assistance to Ukraine.”
Labor Senator Raff Ciccone, the head of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, urged the Greens to reconsider their position in a fiery Senate speech on Tuesday night.
“They call themselves a party of peace and claim to oppose Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, yet they won’t back military help for Ukraine to defend itself,” he said.
Ciccone said linking support for Ukraine to the United Nations Security Council was like “asking the offender for permission to call the police” given Russia’s veto power on the council.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong accused Shoebridge of “lining up with One Nation and President Putin” by opposing military aid to Ukraine in a heated Senate exchange earlier in the day.
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