New Zealand Defence Minister Peeni Henare has met with his Ukrainian counterpart to “see for myself and hear first-hand the sacrifice Ukrainian citizens” have made in the war with Russia that has been ongoing since February.
Why it matters
- It marks a significant milestone for New Zealand, with many other world leaders and officials already having visited Ukraine, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK PM Rishi Sunak.
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern turned down a previous invitation, but has spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in New York.
- Henare said his visit to Kyiv “sends a strong message that New Zealand stands with the people of Ukraine and that our support for the Ukrainian defensive effort against Russia’s illegal invasion is unwavering”.
Key players
- Henare met with Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who “expressed his gratitude” to New Zealand for extending its training mission, which includes the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the UK.
The breakdown
- Henare also went to Poland and met with Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak. It came as the world held its breath after a missile strike in Polish farmland killed two people – later appearing not to be intentional and was likely launched by air defences in neighbouring Ukraine.
- “The recent missile strike in Poland was an unfortunate incident and underlines the dangers created by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Henare said. “I expressed New Zealand’s condolences for the loss of life from the incident.”
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In other news
- Henare said Reznikov’s top challenge was getting through winter. Reuters reported on Friday that a complete shutdown of Kyiv’s power grid was possible as Russian attacks had disabled almost half of Ukraine’s energy systems, as temperatures were already plunging.
- ACT has been pushing the Government to do more for Ukraine, raising more than $80,000 for charities to provide warm clothes by holding fundraisers and auctioning off bag tags made of what it said was downed Russian aircraft.
- Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi wanted New Zealand to distance itself from the war, telling Te Ao Mārama his party has wanted New Zealand to remain neutral, “like Sweden and Switzerland”.
The numbers
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 16,631 civilian casualties in Ukraine from February 24, when the war broke out, to November 13.
- Of that, more than 6500 were killed and more than 10,000 injured.
- Of those killed, 408 were children.
- It is believed the actual death toll of civilians is much higher.
