Scott Morrison has called Russian President Vladimir Putin the "war criminal of Moscow" as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament.
Mr Zelensky used his address to plea directly for Australia to contribute practical military equipment like its Bushmaster armoured vehicles. He said Russia must be held accountable for its "nuclear blackmailing".
"The fate of the global security is decided now," the Ukrainian President said in his address.
"The country which is using the nuclear blackmailing should receive the sanctions, which would show that such blackmailing is destructive for the blackmailer itself."
He said if Russia could bypass sanctions with "simple cunning" then nations like Australia would need to contribute "on the battlefield" with military equipment like the Bushmaster vehicles made by Australia.
The address is the latest in Mr Zelensky's video appeals to governments around the world as his country endures an invasion described by the Australia's Prime Minister as "brutal, unrelenting and illegal". The Ukrainian government estimates the nightly attacks on its cities and regions have killed more than 6000 civilians, with nearly 3000 killed or wounded confirmed by the United Nations.
It comes as Australia will increase its military aid to support Ukrainian resistance to Russia's invasion to a total of $116 million.
The request for additional support will be in "defensive military assistance", including tactical decoys, uncrewed aerial and ground systems, rations and medical supplies. Australian officials would not disclose further details at the request of Ukrainian officials and Australia's other partners, the Prime Minister said.
"Yes, you have our prayers, but you also have our weapons, our humanitarian aid, our sanctions against those who seek to deny your freedom, and you even have our coal," Mr Morrison said.
"We honour you and the incredible courage of your people ... we do not stand with that war criminal of Moscow."
Labor leader Anthony Albanese in his welcoming remarks for Mr Zelensky said Mr Putin's "abhorrent" aggression was in the name of a "poisonous nationalistic lie" but Ukraine was defiant.
"The Ukrainian people have known the cruelty of tyrants before. Those tyrants are gone, but Ukraine goes on. As you stand up to this latest tyrant, you are showing us what true courage is," Mr Albanese said.
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Mr Zelensky addressed the parliament in a 15-minute speech via a video feed. He spoke in his native Ukrainian with an interpreter providing translation in English for the watching MPs.
The Ukrainian president has already held video linkups with the US Congress and other senior NATO countries' parliaments in addition to other significant regional powers like Israel.
Australian's sanctions against Russia and its enablers have grown to more than 500 individuals and entities, including 80 per cent of Russia's banking sector, as part of a coordinated effort of NATO and allied nations to make Mr Putin and his supporters pay a heavy price for his invasion of Ukraine.
"Our co-ordinated action with partners significantly undermines Russia's ability to continue financing President Putin's war," Mr Morrison said.
Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
