Only China can save Ukraine from the brutal Russian regime now, defence minister Peter Dutton warned on Wednesday.
He said the inspiring leadership of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had rallied the world to defend his nation against the Russian might.
But he said the ruthless power of Russian President Vladimir Putin was unstoppable.
‘There is tragically a sense of inevitability because of the sheer weight of force that Russia is bringing to bear,’ Mr Dutton told Sky News Australia.
‘It’s more and more worrying as the days go by. The Russian soldiers as we’ve known through history are a very brutal force.
‘And the carnage that we’re seeing right across the Ukraine at the moment, is very confronting, and I think it’s going to intensify.’
Only China can save Ukraine from the brutal Russian regime now, defence minister Peter Dutton warned on Wednesday (pictured, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin)
Russian commanders have stepped up their infiltration of Ukrainian urban areas, warning Kyiv residents to flee their homes and deploying rockets on the city of Kharkiv.
Mr Dutton said the Russian forces were getting more and more frustrated by the resistance of the Ukraine forces and local population.
‘It’s clear that there is an enormous amount of nationalistic sentiment and that’s felt not just within the Ukraine as we’re seeing, but from around the world,’ he said.
But despite the support for Ukraine from Australia and other international partners, only China’s President Xi Jinping can now stop the war, he said.
‘It’s only China really now that can stop Putin from progressing the way he is,’ said Mr Dutton.
Defence minister Peter Dutton (pictured) said the ruthless power of Russian President Vladimir Putin was unstoppable
Russian commanders have intensified their infiltration of Ukrainian urban areas, warning residents to flee their homes and deploying rockets on the city of Kharkiv and Kyiv (pictured)
‘The pressure really should be on President Xi to pick up that phone and instead of offering comfort, offering words of direction to President Putin that he should withdraw from the Ukraine as quickly as possible.’
Mr Dutton said he hoped ‘common sense prevails’.
‘Hopefully (Russia’s) force is repelled eventually – but at the moment, when you see capital cities being encircled, it is difficult to see a different outcome,’ he said.
His comments came as the head of Australia’s defence force pledged to stand united with other nations in support of Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
In his first public comments since forces invaded Ukraine, Australian Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell said Russia’s actions were illegal.
‘Your ADF stands with our allies and partners in condemning the unprovoked attack on the people of Ukraine,’ he said on Twitter.
‘Australia will provide military assistance and medical supplies to support Ukraine’s defence following Russia’s illegal invasion.’
In his first public comments since forces invaded Ukraine, Australian Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell (pictured) said Russia’s actions were illegal
Mr Dutton said the Russian forces were getting more and more frustrated by the resistance of the Ukraine forces and local population (pictured, Ukraine armed forces mass in Kharkiv)
It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday announced Australia would provide $105 million of support to Ukraine in the wake of the invasion.
Of that, $70 million will be used for military support, the bulk of which will be in the form of missiles and ammunition.
However, the prime minister did not specify what weapons would be supplied due to national security concerns.
The remaining $35 million will be spent on humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine and shelter.
Mr Morrison indicated he would continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine from home, after he contracted COVID-19.
Why the West CAN’T stop Russia rolling through Ukraine and Eastern Europe: Australian expert warns ‘unstable’ warmonger Putin is hellbent on restoring the Soviet Union and CHINA is our only hope
By Kevin Airs for Daily Mail Australia
The West can’t stop Russia from rolling into Ukraine – and it may just be the first step in a much bigger invasion plan, an Australian expert has warned.
Dr Leonid Petrov fears the attack on Ukraine could be the start of a rolling Russian expansion into neighbouring states like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and even Poland.
He believes renegade President Vladimir Putin is hellbent on restoring Russia’s Soviet-era territories, and may target its Central Asian neighbours too.
Dr Petrov spoke out after Prime Minister Scott Morrison branded Putin a thug and a bully and imposed initial sanctions on Russia over its Ukraine incursion.
But Dr Petrov said Australia and the West were powerless to stop the Russian leader as sanctions were meaningless and a military response was out of the question.
The West can’t stop Russia from rolling into Ukraine – and it may just be the first step in a much bigger invasion plan for President Vladimir Putin (pictured), an Australian expert has warned
Dr Leonid Petrov fears the attack on Ukraine could be the start of a rolling Russian expansion into neighbouring states like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and even Poland
‘Putin has nuclear weapons and nobody would really dare to confront a nuclear-armed Russia,’ he warned. ‘Putin is not in a stable state of mind.
‘Putin cannot be stopped by the West. I believe the world is now on the brink of a new major conflict.’
But there is one country that could yet halt Russia in its tracks, he said.
Russia still fears China – and even the once-mighty Soviet Union was terrified about a Chinese invasion during the 1970s and 80s, he said.
If the West was to make peace with China – and especially if the US ends its Sino trade war – he believes it could be enough to make Putin and Russia hesitate.
Russia still fears China – and even the once-mighty Soviet Union was terrified about a Chinese invasion during the 1970s and 80s (pictured, President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured right) branded Putin a thug and a bully and imposed initial sanctions on Russia over its Ukraine incursion but Dr Petrov said the West led by US President Joe Biden (pictured left) were powerless to stop Putin as sanctions were meaningless and a military option was out of the question
‘To be more friendly with China would perhaps be the clever move for the West,’ he said. ‘China is more prone to a rules-based world order than Russia.
‘China is a much likelier ally and friend to the West than Russia. It would be sensible to end this senseless trade war and China would be a great ally to the West.
‘They would probably play the part of the local sheriff.’
The Australian National University academic says Putin wants to turn back the clock on Russia’s borders to what they were before the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
In the wake of the Cold War ending following the fall of the Berlin Wall and break up of the Eastern Bloc, former Soviet states like Ukraine regained their independence.
Dr Petrov believes renegade President Vladimir Putin is hellbent on restoring Russia’s Soviet-era territories, and may target its Central Asian neighbours too (pictured, Russian troops mass the Ukraine border)
Dr Petrov said Putin was using the tried and tested war plan he previously used against Georgia in 2008 (pictured) to identify rebel enclaves and use them as cover for an invasion
But Russian nationalists like Putin have continued to lay claim to the territories – and his powerbase relies on it.
‘Putin’s masterplan is to stay in power as long as possible,’ Dr Petrov, who is also with the International College of Management in Sydney, said.
‘He needs to create crises which are going to be popular – and popular sentiment in Russia these days is the restoration of the borders of the former Soviet Union.
‘Nobody can guarantee the integrity of European Union states like the Baltic republics which were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
‘Russia will have the power to annex them as well. He wants to expand Russia’s territory and exploit the populations of the newly acquired territory.
‘We might see in the near future expansion into former Soviet republics.’
Putin wants to turn back the clock on Russia’s borders to what they were before the collapse of the USSR in 1991 by ret-taking territories like Ukraine (pictured in 2014)
Russian nationalists like Putin have continued to lay claim to territories like Ukraine (seen here when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014) and his powerbase relies on it
He said attempts by the West to isolate Putin through threats and sanctions were doomed to failure.
Dr Leonid Petrov(pictured) warns attempts by the West to isolate Putin through threats and sanctions were doomed to failure
‘Russia will be subject to more aggressive sanctions and I believe Moscow is going to be diplomatically ostracised by the international community.’ Dr Petrov said.
‘But I think that’s what President Putin wants. He wants isolation, he wants to rule Russia indefinitely.
‘He does not need to be integrated with the world economy or community.’
Dr Petrov said Putin was using the tried and tested war plan he previously used against Georgia to identify rebel enclaves and use them as cover for an invasion.
He said the Ukraine invasion was literally a cut and paste of the Georgia plan, using identical documents with identical serial numbers to justify the invasion.
Dr Petrov said the Ukraine invasion was literally a cut and paste of the Georgia invasion plan (pictured), using identical documents with identical serial numbers to justify the incursion
Russia’s plan relied on identifying areas close to the border with high percentages of Russian-speaking locals and supporting local uprisings, then moving in to support them as ‘peacekeepers’ (pictured, a Georgian peace rally against Russia in 2008)
‘It’s a really sloppy job,’ Dr Petrov said. ‘The Kremlin does not really bother following procedures or looking into details.’
Dr Petrov said the plan simply relied on identifying areas close to the border with high percentages of Russian-speaking locals and supporting local uprisings, then moving in to support them as ‘peacekeepers’.
‘It will be easy for Putin to destabilise the situation in those neighbouring countries like the Baltics or Central Asian republics,’ he said.
‘It’s important to destabilise the neighbours to send the message to the domestic constituents that Russia is not doing too badly.’
Even with Russia hit by sanctions, the countries being invaded would provide enough cash, fuel, and mineral deposits to replace anything lost by trade barriers to the West.
Even with Russia hit by sanctions, the countries being invaded would provide enough cash, fuel, and mineral deposits to replace anything lost by trade barriers to the West (pictured, smoke behind a Ukraine power plant)
Subjugated countries would become part of the Russian Customs Union, use a common currency, and be brought into the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, which is a Russian version of NATO (pictured, infantry troops in Crimea in 2014)
The subjugated countries would then start to become part of the Russian Customs Union, use a common currency, and be brought into the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, which is a Russian version of NATO.
‘We will see how the Ukraine gambit unfolds,’ he added. ‘It could be they only go so far into the country as they did in Crimea in 2014 and then stop for a while.
‘It could take years for the invasion to be complete.
‘But if he pushes on and takes the country then the Baltic states could be next – and then Asian neighbours like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
Dr Petrov fears Russia will push on to take over other neighbouring states (pictured Georgia in 2008)
Putin’s bid to restore Russia’s Soviet borders could lead them to invade Poland (pictured, Georgian troops come under fire from Russian rockets in 2008)
‘I hope he does not need Poland. I know he has a real problem with Ukraine… but he has an even stronger negative sentiment towards Poland for some reason.
‘Even Poland – at the heart of Europe – is not safe.’
