Russia Ukraine: Australia joins drone coalition

Australia will join a United Kingdom-led coalition to provide drones to the Ukrainian army, as Britain’s defence secretary warns that distracted democracies risk emboldening dictators around the globe to invade their less powerful neighbours.

After signing a new treaty in Canberra to elevate Australia-UK defence ties, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the war in Ukraine would set a disastrous precedent for other autocratic leaders to follow.

“The whole world, and particularly any dictator, anyone who doesn’t have to answer to voters, is looking at what happens in Ukraine and deciding whether all he needs to do is outwait the West and the civilised world in order to keep what you have gained through ill-gotten means,” Shapps said at a press conference with Defence Minister Richard Marles.

“I think the biggest threat that the world faces today is a sense of attention deficit from countries that believe in freedom and democracy.

“We must be prepared, therefore, to make sure that that does not happen.”

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Shapps, who joined British Foreign Secretary David Cameron for meetings in Canberra, said this risk was most acute in the Indo-Pacific, a clear reference to the possibility of Chinese President Xi Jinping deciding to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan.

A $US60 billion ($90 billion) aid package for Ukraine has been stalled in the US Congress because of opposition from congressional Republicans, and there are fears Donald Trump would decline to support its war effort if he wins power in November.

Marles announced on Thursday that Australia would join an international drone coalition led by the UK and Latvia, which aims to provide thousands of drones to Ukraine.