Australians flying to Ukraine

MARCH 5, 2022

GIVE THE GIFT OF CRIKEY | TIP OFF | VIEW IN BROWSER

This week Cam Wilson spoke exclusively to two Australians planning to travel to Ukraine to join the fight against the Russian invasion. The men shared their motivations, fears and concerns with Crikey. Will they be breaking the law? Our legal contributor Michael Bradley weighed in.

We continued our coverage of Ukraine with Guy Rundle, who explored NATO’s role. It has so far failed to come to Ukraine’s aid. Will it remain idle before a nuclear threat? Wilson also looked at how a throwaway line about Russia went viral with conspiracists… again!

Meanwhile we kept a firm eye on Australian politics as always, with Bernard Keane calling Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck a national disgrace who should resign immediately. He makes a compelling argument.

Thanks as always for your support.

Have a great weekend,

Georgia Wilkins
News editor

‘I don’t want to die, I want to help’: meet the Australians planning to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war

CAM WILSON 5 minute read

Crikey speaks to two Australians currently working out how and whether they should go to defend Ukraine against Putin.

PM ‘unclear’ if Australians can legally fight in Ukraine. We can clear it up for him

MICHAEL BRADLEY 3 minute read

An Australian who's not a Ukrainian citizen and who joins the fight against Russia could be in big legal trouble when they get home.

Not all refugees are equal: Ukrainian crisis raises questions about treatment

AMBER SCHULTZ 4 minute read

Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed with open arms. This is in stark contrast to how refugees from the Middle East have been treated.

War in Ukraine rages on

Russia’s war is rational, NATO is screwed. Deal with it

GUY RUNDLE 5 minute read

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is aimed at severing its ties with NATO, which has succeeded: it has failed to come to Ukraine's aid. But will it remain idle before a nuclear threat?

Narrative of the weak liberal West being outfoxed by strong, smart Putin is being shown up for the myth that it is

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Too many commentators, especially on the right, are pushing a narrative that Western liberalism is failing and autocracy is triumphant. But none of them seem in any great hurry to move to Russia...

No, the Proud Boys aren’t going to Ukraine: how a small troll went viral

CAM WILSON 3 minute read

A post from an Australian Proud Boys account pretended they were flying overseas to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. And a lot of people bought it.

Joe Biden’s ‘new world order’: a throwaway line goes viral with conspiracists… again!

CAM WILSON 3 minute read

Conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers have latched on to a benign comment from US President Joe Biden. Here's how it unfolded.

From EU-financed guns to rallying NATO troops, the Russia-Ukraine war is one of firsts

AMBER SCHULTZ 3 minute read

The invasion of Ukraine has seen unique trends emerging both in the beleaguered nation and around the world.

Richard Colbeck is a national disgrace — and an affront to his own side of politics

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

The appalling aged care minister claims the government has 'stepped up' like the sector's workers, yet more evidence this bumbling fool must go.

Teflon Don no longer: the Trump empire could be on the verge of collapse

KEIR SEMMENS 4 minute read

Donald Trump has spent his entire life escaping the consequences of his actions. But that may be about to change.

Power of the human spirit rises to take on Mother Nature’s deadly floods

MADONNA KING 3 minute read

Queenslanders rallied to help strangers as south-eastern cities were inundated. It was a mighty show of extraordinary generosity.

This week in politics

$100,000 of pain: how a Chinese billionaire found his way inside NSW Labor

BERNARD KEANE 5 minute read

NSW ICAC's report into a $100,000 donation by Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo lays bare the venality of the NSW Labor Party -- but also how poor federal laws help those seeking to wield influence.

Don’t mention the other war: Coalition ignores latest climate report as east coast floods

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 4 minute read

As swaths of Australia have been decimated by catastrophic flooding, a new IPCC report has decried climate inaction. The political response has been muted at best.

Ditching fossil fuels now is a core part of Australian national security. It’s a truth of war

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

If there was ever a time to make the change to electric vehicles, it's when an oil-rich rogue nation like Russia can benefit from its own aggression.

Labor and that 100k bribe — we may never know what really happened

MICHAEL BRADLEY 4 minute read

The facts around the party's failure to self-report the donation from Huang Xiangmo, who obscured its origins, will remain a mystery.

Putin’s puppet: Donald Trump takes bootlicking to a whole new level

KEIR SEMMENS 2 minute read

The former US president has declared loudly, proudly and often his devotion to the Russian president. His sycophancy shocks the world.

When the UK PM says Putin wants to ‘Grozny-fy’ Kyiv, this is what it means

IMOGEN CHAMPAGNE 1 minute read

The Chechen city of Grozny was reduced to rubble during the two Chechen wars after being bombarded by Russian forces.