Former Victorian state MP Tim Smith has joined a growing number of Australian voices calling for the federal government to reinstate its diplomatic presence in war-torn Ukraine, as he made a surprise visit to the country’s capital.
amid a drink-drive scandal two years ago, joined his friend, Australian business leader Alistair Walton, in Kyiv on Tuesday where the pair met with Ukraine’s ambassador to Canberra.
The former shadow attorney-general has been based in London since leaving politics, where he is pursuing further studies and establishing himself as a current affairs commentator in the British media. He travelled to the Ukrainian capital along with Walton – a former investment banker and one-time Australian consul-general to New York – earlier this week on a 15-hour train ride from Warsaw.
“It’s a disgrace that Australia has abandoned its embassy in Kyiv, whilst our key allies like the Canadians, British and Americans are all back in Kyiv sending a message to the Russians that they won’t be intimated by genocidal and unprovoked warfare on a free people,” Smith said.He posted a video on social media standing outside the vacant embassy, saying he was visiting the city to express his solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
, when he told this masthead he was considering entering the race to replace Warrandyte MP Ryan Smith, who announced his resignation on Wednesday.
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