Ukraine is pressing Australia to provide expanded technical assistance to help repel devastating Russian cyber attacks as fears mount that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the brink of launching a fresh military invasion.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have escalated rapidly in recent weeks as Moscow continues its military build-up, moving tens of thousands of troops to border regions.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she "reaffirmed Australia's steadfast support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" during a phone call with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday.
She reiterated that Australia backed US and European Union efforts to deter Russian aggression.
Australia prepared to impose sanctions
Australia's ambassador to Ukraine, Bruce Edwards, also said that Australia was "prepared to implement additional autonomous sanctions" against Russia "if warranted".
But Mr Kuleba's account of the phone call went further, saying he and Senator Payne also "discussed the implementation of a comprehensive package to deter the Russian Federation from further aggression against Ukraine, which includes political, economic and security components".
He said the two ministers had "paid special attention to strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities and practical support for the development of cyber defence systems in our country".
The Chargé d`Affaires at Ukraine's Embassy in Canberra, Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, told the ABC that Australia had already helped his country's military to "develop cyber security skills" last year and called last week's cyber attacks on Ukraine "one of the biggest in our history".
"We are still in the process of recovering and reviving everything," he said.
Mr Shalkivskyi said while Senator Payne and Mr Kuleba had not struck any formal agreements, Australia had signalled it was willing to provide additional help.
"There are no specific agreements yet but we confirmed that Ukraine is interested in this, and Australia said it will look into the possibilities to continue and expand, probably, this kind of assistance," he said.
Australia has not mentioned cyber cooperation in any of its public statements, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday emphasised that no requests had been received for direct military support to help deal with the crisis.
This morning, Senator Payne told AM the two countries were still in the early stages of discussions on expanded cyber cooperation.
"No specific requests have been made as yet, but I did indicate to the foreign minister that we'd continue to work together on those sort of practical matters where Australia and Ukraine could advance these engagements," she said.
"My ambassador to the Ukraine — with whom I'll speak this afternoon – will engage the Ukrainian authorities on those [issues] as well."
Mr Kuleba also said Senator Payne had accepted an invitation to visit Ukraine this year, although this has not been confirmed by the Australian government.
Australia and Ukraine 'not on same page'
Elizabeth Buchanan, a lecturer of strategic studies at Deakin University, said there "appeared to be a divergent opinion between Canberra and Kyiv on just what was promised".
Russia's military build-up is also likely to be discussed when Senator Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton meet their UK counterparts Liz Truss and Ben Wallace in Sydney on Friday for annual talks.
The United Kingdom has been supplying Ukraine with anti-tank weapons and warned Russia that it would face sanctions from multiple European countries if it launched an invasion.
Mr Dutton told commercial radio station 4BC that the UK had a "big role" to play deterring Russia from taking action in Ukraine.
"If we're going to deter countries from aggressive behaviour then we're best to do that with strong friends and allies and we have that in the UK and in the US," he said.
