Ukraine

The Australian Government condemns the breach of Ukraine's sovereignty by the convoy of Russian trucks which entered Ukraine without permission.

This shows a flagrant and reckless disregard for international norms and international law.

Russia would never allow any other nation to breach its sovereignty as it has done to Ukraine.

It is hypocritical of Russia to claim a humanitarian motive as it is directly responsible for the ongoing instability and conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin should withdraw all support for the separatists and ask them to lay down their arms, so the conflict can be brought to an immediate end.

That would also allow the teams of officials from The Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia to return to the crash site of MH17 to complete the work of recovering all remains and continue the investigation into those responsible for the murder of 298 innocent people, including 38 who called Australia home.