Russia launches massive air assault on Ukraine

Australia Broadcast Center

26-05-2025

Sabra Lane: Good morning, welcome to AM. Its Monday the 26th of May. I'm Sabra Lane, coming to you from Nipaluna/Hobart.
Sabra Lane: The floodwaters have dropped and all emergency level warnings have been downgraded across the flood zone in New South Wales. Emergency workers are assessing the damage from last week's record floods so far more than 500 homes and businesses have been ruled uninhabitable. Many flood affected residents are now battling exhaustion and fatigue as they begin the clean up and recovery. Gavin Coote reports.
Gavin Coote : Across Taree, locals are ripping out damaged walls, removing debris and using shovels to clear away the thick layers of mud in homes and businesses. John Mansour is among them. His family owns and runs a shopping arcade that was severely damaged by floodwaters.
John Mansour : At this stage, you know, I'm not trying to, even though I am thinking further ahead, I'm trying to just think day by day. The reality is we just need to cleanse it as quick as possible. There was enough debris there that we needed to have the fire brigade come in twice and hose it out. But yeah, removing the gyprock, removing all the sort of the skirtings, the carpet, the tiles, you know, flooring, sort of some of that floated timber, all that, the water just finds its way into all the little grooves. So we have to remove everything unfortunately.
Gavin Coote : In towns and villages right across the mid-north coast and Hunter regions, residents and businesses are counting the cost of the worst floods on record. Alison Penfold is the member-elect for Lyon and has been surveying the damage throughout her electorate, which stretches from Port Stephens to just south of Port Macquarie.
Alison Penfold : And it's not just, you know, here in the Manning Valley has been the hardest hit and it's certainly got the public profile, but the flooding hit from up in the Hastings and even beyond my electorate into Kempsey and all the way down to the Hunter River, the Lyon electorate is 16,000 square kilometres and I've got a lot of communities in the area that have been hit by this incredible flood event.
Gavin Coote : Emergency teams are now assessing the damage to the approximately 10,000 flood-affected homes and businesses. As communities move into recovery mode, financial relief will soon be available, including income support for those who've lost work. Alison Penfold says she's grateful for the support, but wants the Defence Force called in to help with the clean-up.
Alison Penfold : And what I'm hearing, and there's anger brewing in this community, is where is the external support? We had it for the rescues, we've had it for the resupply, now we need it for the recovery. You know, this is a community that had floods only a few years ago and the ADF turned up and people have been saying to me all week, when's the military coming? When's the military coming? There's RFS, there's SES, there's a whole bunch of people here, there's just general people from the community coming to help. But we need more. They're tired, they're stressed, they're traumatised, their friends and families have been affected. We need that external support and we need it now.
Gavin Coote : Flood-affected residents are being urged to wait for the all-clear from the State Emergency Service to ensure it's safe to return home. Gavin Coote reporting there.
Sabra Lane: The Minister for Emergency Management joined me earlier. Kristy McBain, thanks for joining AM.
Sabra Lane: Good morning, Sabra.
Sabra Lane: We've heard from the new member for Lyon this morning, Alison Penfold, that locals are crying out for more help from Defence with the clean-up. Is that coming?
Kristy McBain: Look, we have enacted a number of requests for support from New South Wales already, including ADF search and rescue helicopters, and we will ensure that we're with communities for the long haul, and we'll have more to say on the clean-up and longer-term supporters damage assessments are undertaken.
Sabra Lane: When will he have more to say? Is that going to come today?
Kristy McBain: I'll be meeting with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister today, and we'll be talking about the ongoing recovery needs that communities are going to need in the coming days, in the coming weeks and the coming months. We've enacted a number of responses already, including the disaster recovery allowance, which is an income support for four local government areas. We've enacted the disaster recovery funding arrangements with New South Wales for 19 local government areas, as well as a community clean-up for councils for those 19 council areas as well.
Sabra Lane: So far, there are about 10,000 homes that need assessing, and about 500 have been declared uninhabitable at the moment. How long will it take to assess all of these homes?
Kristy McBain: Well, as the water continues to recede, New South Wales SES will be able to get on the ground and complete those assessments. This is going to be a process that will take a little bit of time, but we've now got over 2,500 emergency service personnel from across New South Wales on the ground, and we've also got deployments from Victoria, the ACT, Queensland, and coming from other parts of the country as well. So this is a real sort of one Australia moment, and we've got those emergency service personnel coming from right across the country.
Sabra Lane: With 500 homes declared uninhabitable, how and where are those people who were living in those homes going to stay short and long term?
Kristy McBain: There are some big questions that we're still working through with New South Wales. I know being on the ground last week with the Prime Minister and the Premier and Emergency Services Minister, Jihad Dib, was really important, speaking directly with community members and state and federal members. I know the New South Wales Minister for Recovery, Janelle Saffin, on the ground as well, and I was speaking to her yesterday about some of those longer term issues that need to be sorted, and we'll have obviously some work ahead of us as will community members to ensure that we are taking care of their immediate needs, but also planning for the long term.
Sabra Lane: The 2022 floods were the most expensive natural disaster to date in Australia's history. A federal parliamentary inquiry examined that and last year recommended that it was time nationally for consistent flood mapping to be made available to everyone. What progress, if any, has happened on that?
Kristy McBain: Floods are difficult because they're hard to map and understand unless we know exactly where the rain will fall and when and how heavy. For some of these areas, it's the cumulative effect of rain that has been the real problem, and for a lot of people, this episode is just the straw that ends up breaking the camel's back. You know, for some of these areas, they've had more than a third of their total annual rainfall in the last few months alone. So for a lot of community members and a lot of these communities, it's the cumulative impact of rain that's been the real issue.
Sabra Lane: Sure, but a lot of people in Wingham in New South Wales were told after the 2021 floods it was a once in a lifetime event. They've been flooded again. One home in Queensland is now being rebuilt for the third time in five years due to floods. Shouldn't there be an adult conversation, given what scientists are saying about the frequency of extreme events like this happening right now, about rebuilding and where people should be allowed to rebuild?
Kristy McBain: Yeah, look, I think that, you know, from my perspective, the science of climate change is absolutely settled and we know that there are going to be more impacts and the results of those episodes are going to be more impactful. So, you know, we've got to start having some of those conversations. The emergency management ministers from across the country meet regularly and it's something that's continually on the list about how we can ensure that we've got more appropriate responses. And I think states and territories understand that the conversation is up to be had. I think local councils too are absolutely prepared to have these conversations because at the end of the day, these are the people who are with communities, you know, long after the lights turn off and the cameras go away. So it's really important, I think, that we're progressing solutions for the three levels of government and the collaboration during this event of the three levels of government has been at its absolute highest.
Sabra Lane: Well, how and when should that conversation happen? Because as Andrew Hall from the Australian Insurance Council says, allowing people to keep rebuilding in flood zones is the definition of insanity.
Kristy McBain: Yeah, look, I think, you know, the conversations are happening, but they have to be had with community. And that's really important. Communities need to have a say in these things, particularly after a disaster.
Sabra Lane: Kristy McBain, thanks for joining AM.
Sabra Lane: Thank you.
Sabra Lane: Kristy McBain is the Federal Minister for Emergency Management.
Sabra Lane: Ukraine's president sees America's silence and that of others in the world's only encouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism has been sparked by Russia's biggest air raid on the capital, Kiev, since the conflict started three years ago. At least 12 people died in a barrage of ballistic missile and drone attacks. That assault happened as the two sides swapped 1,000 prisoners in a rare show of cooperation. I spoke earlier with Europe correspondent Elias Clure. Elias, Russia's air assault's been described as the biggest yet. What more can you tell us?
Elias Clure : Well, the Ukrainian military have said that over 300 drones and missiles were launched. Several people have been killed, at least 12 at the last count, including children, and that's across multiple cities. Now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again accused Russia of targeting civilians, but it's a clear escalation from Russia here and perhaps an indication that not only are they willing to grind it out on the battlefield, but they're willing also to intensify attacks. And I should also mention that Kiev, the capital, was targeted in this latest airstrike. So that's significant to note as well. But there's been a call to action by Volodymyr Zelenskyy now who says Russia needs to be punished further for its latest attack.
Sabra Lane: And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the United States of remaining silent as this attack intensified.
Elias Clure : He has. So on Twitter on Sunday local time here, he said that the White House had been silent on the issue and that that was effectively emboldening the Kremlin and in turn Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Now, what he's likely referring to is the fact that Donald Trump has resisted calls to impose further tariffs on Russia. Now, we know Europe and the UK are now drawing up yet more sanctions on Russia to try and restrict their ability to fight in this war further. But Donald Trump says he doesn't want to interfere with the now personal negotiations he's having with Vladimir Putin. So again, it seems to be frustrating Mr Zelenskyy now, who's now making very pointed comments on social media urging the White House and Donald Trump to take more action.
Sabra Lane: Aside from this, there's been a rare show of goodwill as the two nations have swapped prisoners.
Elias Clure : That's right. So over three days, a thousand prisoners were swapped between the two countries. On the last day, we saw very emotional scenes when just over 300 Ukrainians were returned to home soil. They were handed phones when they got off the bus and you could see them holding back tears as they saw loved ones on FaceTime calls. Now, this agreement was struck a couple of weeks ago when both warring sides met in Istanbul to thrash out a peace deal. Now, of course, nothing came of that. This was the one tangible agreement. Back to Donald Trump though, Sabra, he mentioned that this show of cooperation could lead to quote something big. But as we've seen over the weekend, not only is Russia eager to escalate attacks, but they're still indicating that they're going to fight this war to the very end unless their terms of the ceasefire are met.
Sabra Lane: Elias Clure there.
Sabra Lane: Israel's military says it's intensifying its assault on Gaza. Is it prepares to put in place a new system for delivering food to Palestinians who are on the brink of starvation. Israel's Defence Force has ramped up its deployment to the Palestinian territory with thousands of Israeli troops now reportedly inside Gaza. Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek reports.
Eric Tlozek : The doctors at the Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital say only the most severely malnourished patients are admitted. These children are among the worst affected by the food and medicine shortages caused by Israel's refusal to allow aid into Gaza. Sahar Al-Bahtimi's three-year-old daughter Ghada is here for treatment.
Sahar al Bahtimi: She currently has a urine infection. Because of the closure of the crossings and the lack of food entering Gaza, many children are suffering from dire health conditions. Had the crossing been open, we would have enough food. Our children would not suffer from health problems.
Eric Tlozek : Mohammed Hijaj is another parent who's brought his child, one-year-old Dunia, to hospital in search of help.
Mohammed Hijaj : She weighs four and a half kilos. She's starving. I cannot find her milk, not even diapers. I cannot buy her anything. She's like this because of starvation, malnutrition. I cannot find food for her. I'm afraid for my daughter and I don't even mention all of my other children. My other children are also in a bad situation, but she is in the worst.
Eric Tlozek : Israel has allowed only a small amount of food into Gaza over the past 11 weeks, cutting off aid to pressure the militant group Hamas. Now the Israeli military's launched a renewed offensive in the territory, part of a plan that will see most of Gaza's population displaced again. The director of the paediatric department at Al-Rantisi Hospital, Dr. Ragheb Roush Agha, says children are already dying.
Dr. Ragheb Roush Agha : As a consequence, children are losing weight and immunity. The immunity deficiency leads to inflammation. For many children, it leads to death. In short, the fragile immune system due to malnutrition kills children.
Eric Tlozek : Israel's government is reportedly about to allow more food into Gaza, but not the hundreds of trucks waiting on the border with deliveries for the established organisations operating inside. Instead, private security contractors will oversee aid distribution at selected points in southern Gaza, surrounded by the Israeli military. Israel says this plan will stop Hamas from seizing aid, but humanitarian groups have condemned it. The Israeli government's also yet to say when the system will start, and did not answer the ABC's questions about that. Father Mohammad Hijaj says the food has to come soon, or his daughter Dunia won't survive.
Mohammed Hijaj : I swear to God, it has only been one month now, and we're only filling our tummy with water, water, water, and only water. Nearly nothing. I don't want anything for myself. I'm worried about my daughter. I don't want her to die.
Sabra Lane: That's a translation of Palestinian parent Mohammad Hijaj. Ending that report by Eric Tlozek.
Sabra Lane: A former Liberal cabinet minister is urging the party and membership to change, saying if they don't, they'll head to oblivion at the next federal election. Karen Andrews also says the party's new leader, Sussan Ley, should be given every chance to succeed. The warnings come as the party heads to reunification with the Nationals after last week's messy short break-up. Political reporter Nicole Hegarty is more from Parliament House.
Nicole Hegarty : After a week dominated by the Nationals' relationship with the Liberals, the two parties are set to get back together. We got an outcome in two or three days because of principles over politics. Nationals leader David Littleproud telling Sky News he's relaxed about his future as leader. But the ructions of the past week have cast doubt over his tenure, even if the party does return as the junior coalition partner. His deputy, Kevin Hogan, seeking to hose down leadership murmurings.
Kevin Hogan: David Littleproud has the overwhelming support in our room.
Nicole Hegarty : As the focus returns to the Liberal party, its leader, Sussan Ley, readies to reveal her front bench.
Sussan Ley: The approach that we said we would take to our party room about policies, nothing adopted and nothing abandoned.
Nicole Hegarty : That approach sidelined, with the party agreeing to in-principle support for the Nationals' four policy demands. Those demands are $20 billion regional future fund, nuclear power, supermarket divestiture powers and improved telecommunications in regional and rural parts of the country. The policy rethinked to be accompanied by a broader review into the Liberal party's electoral thrashing. And as the wait continues for a decision on who will undertake that body of work, former Liberal cabinet minister Karen Andrews is urging party members to take responsibility for the result and listen.
Karen Andrews: If they don't change now, they run every risk that they will go even further backwards, potentially into oblivion in 2028.
Nicole Hegarty : Karen Andrews says the review should be done by someone outside of the party and its recommendations acted on, not left to gather dust like those from 2022.
Karen Andrews: Sussan has been elected. She should be given the opportunity to succeed.
Nicole Hegarty : As for the events of the last week...
Karen Andrews: All that does is reinforce to the public that the Liberal and National parties were not ready to be elected to government in 2025 and they need to get the house in order.
Nicole Hegarty : Members of both Coalition partners breathing a sigh of relief that the short-lived prospect of a shadow cabinet being made up solely of Liberals and a list of National's spokespeople won't materialise. One Liberal source suggesting that would have been diabolical. While the coalition might be back on track, so to speak, the raw numbers in the house are most likely Labor with 94 seats, the Coalition 43, meaning the opposition is condemned to years in the political wilderness. Years its members hope will be spent wisely.
Sabra Lane: And that's AM for today. Thanks for your company. I'm Sabra Lane.