Diplomatic club dispute escalates as Ukrainian envoy says protesting wives were called ‘bigots’

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, said on November 9 that Sandie Kaine, president of the Women's International Club of Canberra, had used the term during the organization's recent annual general meeting.

The women who resigned were the spouses of the Ukrainian, Italian and Estonian ambassadors.

"I am particularly appalled by this development given the extraordinary solidarity and support that Australia and the Australian people have shown Ukraine throughout Russia's full-scale invasion," Myroshnychenko wrote on X.

"Refusing to socialise with a representative of Russia, which is waging a genocidal war against Ukraine, is not bigotry. It is a matter of conscience, dignity and solidarity with the victims of that aggression," he added.

The dispute began after the club admitted Irina Petrakova, wife of Russian Ambassador Mikhail Petrakov, prompting the three women to resign.

In a letter previously obtained by Politico, the Ukrainian ambassador's wife, Liana Myroshnychenko, explained that her objection was not to Petrakova's Russian nationality but to her role as a representative of the Russian state.

She described losing relatives and friends to Russia's war against Ukraine.

Kaine previously told Politico that the club had admitted Petrakova in accordance with Australian law and its constitution, citing legal advice that rejecting her because of her country of origin could violate anti-discrimination rules.

The European Union's ambassador to Australia, Lawrence Meredith, also told Politico that EU ambassadors were "deeply disappointed" by the decision, saying they could accept no normalization of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Myroshnychenko's account of Kaine's remarks has not been independently confirmed, and the club's response to the latest allegation was not included in the available reports.