Visits to Ukraine, Poland and United Kingdom
Last week, I was privileged to visit Ukraine and saddened to see first-hand the terrible human cost of the ongoing war.
Russia's illegal invasion has brought misery and destruction to the Ukrainian people for three and a half long years and our support for Ukraine remains steadfast. Everyday families’ lives are disrupted by the possibility of physical injury or worse, destruction of homes and destruction of workplaces and schools. For me as an observer this was heartbreaking.
I had formal talks with my Ukrainian counterpart, Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal, and I met Foreign Minister Andrii Sabiha and the Office of the President and Deputy Minister of Defence Oleksandr Kozenko. They were grateful for our visit and our ongoing support from the other side of the world, including over $NZ168 million in financial assistance, humanitarian aid and in-kind support from up to 100 New Zealand Defence force personnel.
I was given the opportunity to pay our respects at the Wall of Remembrance in Mykhailivska Square and I visited the site of a residential apartment building hit by a Russian ballistic missile on 17 June, which tragically killed 23 civilians.
My visit, accompanied by Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies, was a tangible reminder of both New Zealand's strong support for Ukraine and our strong support for the international rules-based order.
We also visited Warsaw, Poland and met Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and we laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Poland remains one of our most trusted partners in Central and Eastern Europe due to shared values and strategic interests that underpin our close relationship.
Poland has a critical role as both the key logistical hub for support to Ukraine and the anchor of NATO’s eastern flank.
My trip concluded with a visit to the United Kingdom where UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and I signed the 2025 Joint Statement on Defence Cooperation between the UK and New Zealand in London.
We updated this statement on defence co-operation as it has been 10 years since we last articulated our defence relationship with the United Kingdom, and the world has changed significantly in that time.
As well as the war in Ukraine, increasing strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific and attacks on commercial shipping in the Middle East are among the issues affecting both of our regions, and it is vital that we stand firm in the face of current and future threats.
The international rules-based order that both countries rely on for economic prosperity is under increasing threat and so increasing our defence forces’ interoperability will support collective security.
Our countries’ militaries already train, deploy and operate side by side. Just recently our Navy frigate joined the UK-led Operation Highmast in the Indo-Pacific. Our Army personnel have been working with our UK counterparts to train Ukrainian recruits, and our Navy personnel have worked closely with the Royal Navy in the Pacific region, specifically, the deployment of Navy personnel on the HMS TAMAR over the past year.
Secretary Healey and I agreed to enhance that work and to explore new areas of opportunity for closer cooperation, including innovation, defence industrial supply chains and utilising common equipment.
I am focussed on keeping New Zealand’s profile in defence visible and relevant with our overseas friends as it also enhances our reputation with them in all our foreign dealings and interactions.
All the best to you and your families,
