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Peace talks between the United States and Russia are like “watching a train wreck in slow motion”, say local Ukrainian community leaders, who fear those who fled to Australia may have nothing to return to in the event of an unfavourable peace deal.
The nearly three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion and — a decision President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned. are concerned decisions could be made without Ukraine’s input, with Zelenskyy insisting Ukraine would not accept any deal without its involvement.
Zelenskyy met with US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg on Thursday (local time). A planned press conference following the talks was cancelled amid the growing rift between the two countries, although Zelenskyy later in his nightly video address said the meeting “gives hope”
“The details of the agreement are important. The better the details are drafted, the better the result,” Zelenskyy said.
That comes after Trump on Wednesday said Russia “have the cards” in any negotiation to end the war, and who better move fast to secure peace of he’d have no country left.
And US Defence Secretary Pete Hesgeth has previously said returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders — and — is an “unrealistic objective”.
If Ukraine were to cede up to 20 per cent of its territory to Russia, it could leave the future uncertain for many Ukrainians on humanitarian visas in Australia.
Peace talks ‘difficult to fathom’
Thousands of Ukrainians have come to Australia as refugees since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
, as the community wants peace in the region but is concerned their country would look vastly different following the war.
Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, said the peace talks are “very difficult to fathom”.
“The best way that I can think of describing it is watching a train wreck in slow motion. It’s very difficult to fathom and to understand how events and such rhetoric can be unfolding,” she said.
“We have the leader of the free world, the land of the free and the home of the brave, which is currently having discussions with … someone that has an arrest warrant issued for him.”
The International Criminal Court in 2023 against Putin accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine — a move the Kremlin labelled “outrageous and unacceptable”. He has not been arrested nor faced trial.
Argyrou said many Ukrainians would like to return home, either to live permanently or at least visit family.
‘No home to go back to’
Around 5,000 refugees and displaced Ukrainians in Australia may face limited options in post-war Ukraine.
Argyrou said Russia has taken control of around 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory, and if ceded to Russia, Ukrainians living in Australia could have no home to return to.
“A lot of those people that have arrived here in Australia are from cities that have been completely razed to the ground, cities like Mariupol that no longer exist,” Argyrou said.
“We also have Ukrainians that are currently in Australia seeking refuge that are from occupied territories in Ukraine.
“So should a peace deal be made the way that [US] President [Donald] Trump is currently articulating and the occupied territories be handed over to Russia, which is an unfathomable outcome, the Ukrainians here wouldn’t have a home to go back to.”
Argyrou said many would also want to stay permanently in Australia, but that decision ultimately lies with the Department of Home Affairs.
Visa pathways for Ukrainians in Australia
The Department of Home Affairs said it is assessing cases of Ukrainians seeking permanent residency in Australia on an individual basis.
A department spokesperson said: “The Australian government is making offers of a permanent stay in Australia, on a case-by-case basis, to Ukrainian nationals who hold a Temporary Humanitarian Concern (subclass 786) visa.”
“This permanent pathway is through the grant of a Resolution of Status (RoS) (subclass 851) visa to individuals who accept the offer of a permanent stay and meet relevant criteria for the grant of the visa.
Ukrainians who are granted RoS visas can stay here permanently.
“The government is considering further options to support Ukrainian nationals on temporary visas who did not accept the government’s offer of temporary humanitarian stay before 31 July 2022,” the spokesperson said.
They can also apply for other pathways, including the skilled, family, student and visitor programs.
Argyrou said those displaced would also be keen to reunite with their families.
“Many of them have been separated and torn apart from their families.
“Seventy per cent of the refugees and displaced Ukrainians that are currently in Australia are women and children. So, they have been separated from their husbands from fathers, and I’m sure that they would like to be reunited with them at some point as well.”
