More than two dozen Western allies have formally committed to sending troops to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire deal is agreed – but it’s not yet clear if New Zealand is likely among them.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon overnight virtually attended a Paris meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, the nickname for 35 countries who support Ukraine more than three years after Russia began its full-scale invasion.
But he hasn’t said whether New Zealand is among 26 countries French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking after the summit, said had committed to deploying troops.
Defence Minister Judith Collins told the Mike Hosking Breakfast she wasn’t in the overnight meeting.
But “the Prime Minister has been very clear that any such commitment would need to go through Cabinet”, said Collins, who made a secret visit to Ukraine this week.
“And it definitely hasn’t gone through Cabinet.”
Asked if Luxon would be in a position at the meeting to say “due process included, we’re part of it, could be part of it, or not”, Collins said Hosking was “speculating”.
“The Prime Minister’s … been very clear to me that any such decision would have to go through Cabinet. And he said, it hasn’t.”
Collins held formal talks with Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal, and had engagements with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Office of the President, and Deputy Minister of Defence Oleksandr Kozenko during her time to Kyiv this week, with the public only told after her visit for security reasons.
Collins – who travelled with Defence Force Chief, Air Marshal Tony Davies – also paid her respects at the Wall of Remembrance in Mykhailivska Square and visited the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian ballistic missile on June 17, killing at least 23.
“Seeing the devastating impact of Russia’s illegal war – the disruption to everyday life, the human cost, the impact on children, the physical destruction – was heartbreaking.”
That what Russia thought would be a three-day war continued more than three-and-a-half years on showed Ukrainians were not giving in, Collins told Hosking.
“They do however want this stopped … they do care about their people, unlike [Russian president Vladimir] Putin.
“And as I saw in Kyiv, people being killed in residential properties, apartment blocks, with missiles coming in, just appalling behaviour from Russia and frankly war crime after war crime.”
Ukrainians loved that they had support from places as far away as New Zealand, but they’ve also listened to US President Donald Trump, Macron and others “and they want to get this sorted”.
The problem was Putin had let deadlines pass, now had troops from North Korea and “he’s clearly supported in the war in many ways by China”, Collins said.
“I mean it’s a difficult situation and I think there’s a lot riding on those discussions between the US and the Nato partners, plus also countries like Australia and ourselves.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.