Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday extended his support to Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity" and said that the world has entered a period of profound strategic challenge and disruption.
"Beyond our shores, we face many other threats. The world has entered a period of profound strategic challenge and disruption," Prime Minister said in a statement.
"After months of planning, bullying, coercion and intimidation, Russia has invaded Ukraine. Australia strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics followed by the announcement of a "special military operation" to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.
Condemning Russia's action for "violation of international law and an assault on freedom", Australia said that this is the latest example of an authoritarian regime seeking to challenge the status quo through threats and violence.
"A new arc of autocracy is instinctively aligning to challenge and reset the world order in their own image," Morrison said in the statement issued by the Prime Minister's office.
"We expect Russia to continue its brutal attacks, including bombarding residential areas, even nuclear facilities, with scant regard for civilian casualties or the broader catastrophic impact. This is what autocrats do. It is not the product of a sudden madness or a failure of earlier diplomacy to resolve just grievances," he said further.
He added that these are the bloody and violent acts of an autocrat determined to impose his will on others, in the contrived self-justification of realising nationalistic destiny.
More than 1.5 million people have already fled Ukraine. "We fear this is only the beginning of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe," he said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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