<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>338680</docID> <postdate>2025-02-20 10:52:52</postdate> <headline>Australia backs Ukraine leader after Trump attack</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-295758" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230713001819809770-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="601" /></p> <caption>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in 2023. (EPA PHOTO)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Tess Ikonomou</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Australia is standing firm by Ukraine after US President Donald Trump's attack on its leader, rejecting the criticism that Volodymyr Zelenskiy is a dictator.</strong></p> <p>Mr Trump slammed the Ukrainian president as a "dictator without elections" and falsely claimed Kyiv had "started" the Russian war.</p> <p>The US president also incorrectly stated Mr Zelenskiy's approval rating was down to four per cent.</p> <p>Asked if Mr Zelenskiy is a dictator, Defence Minister Richard Marles replied "no".</p> <p>"I'm not about to give you a running commentary on what President Trump is saying," he told Nine's Today on Thursday.</p> <p>"The Australian position is that we see that the global rules‑based order is under threat by what Russia did in respect of Ukraine.</p> <p>"We will continue to support Ukraine so that they are able to resolve this conflict on their terms."</p> <p>Australia has committed more than $1.5 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia's invasion almost three years ago on February 24, 2022.</p> <p>Asked if the government was considering sending Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine, Mr Marles said it wasn't being discussed.</p> <p>"There's a lot of water to go under the bridge before we get to that point," he said.</p> <p>"What we need to be doing is standing with Ukraine right now, and that's the Australian position and that's exactly what we are doing."</p> <p>In a pointed threat to the Ukrainian president, Mr Trump warned he had "better move fast" to reach a peace deal with Russia "or he is not going to have a country left".</p> <p>In less than a week since Mr Trump had a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US president's rhetoric has strained relations with European nations who disagree with his approach to end the conflict.</p> <p>Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said any terms for a deal to end the conflict must be acceptable to Ukraine, and also backed Mr Zelenskiy.</p> <p>"He's a legitimate, democratically elected leader of Ukraine and he is fighting an unjust, unlawful, unprovoked invasion by Vladimir Putin, who is responsible for initiating this conflict," Mr Paterson told Nine's Today.</p> <p>"The burden falls on Vladimir Putin to stop his invasion, to stop his attack on Ukraine, not on anyone else."</p> </body>