Ukraine crisis: Ukraine and European Union speak to Parliament, calling on New Zealand to step up

Ukraine has continued to suffer viscous bombing raids. Picture / Supplied

Ukraine's ambassador to New Zealand Kateryna Zelenko has thanked New Zealand for its support during the Russian invasion.

"We live in a strange world where the countries which are close neighbours with a shared history and culture appear to be a ruthless enemy and the nations which are so far away with different historical background appear to be a real friend in need," Zelenko said.

She later added that countries of the free world had united against Russia, using the Māori phrase "he waka eke noa [we are all in this together]".

The comments came during a meeting of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade committee in which the Ukrainian and European Union Ambassadors to New Zealand briefed MPs on their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

MPs were also warned that New Zealand would not be immune to Russian disinformation efforts.

European Union ambassador Nina Obermaier warned Russia was "resorting to disinformation and gross misrepresentation of fact - New Zealand is also exposed to that".

Zelenko also warned against disinformation, saying around the world, there had been attempts to "whitewash" the actions of the Russian regime.

"There is a non-military component to this invasion, namely the propaganda and fake news campaign by the Russian Federation."

Her warning came as the Government faces renewed pressure to expel the Russian ambassador following his embassy's decision to post misinformation about the bombing of a maternity ward in Mariupol on its Facebook page.

The post, put up on March 10, alleged Ukrainian forces had turned the maternity hospital "into a firing site and kicked out its personnel", justifying Russia's decision to bomb it.

In further posts, the embassy suggested Ukrainians had staged aspects of the bombing to allege the hospital was still being used as a maternity unit, and not a base for troops. Western fact-checkers have described this as incorrect.

National's foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee has consistently pushed to have the Russian ambassador expelled over Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Zelenko was hopeful for a peaceful solution, but said she hoped for a future where "every nation could pursue its free choice", a reference to Ukraine's desire to eventually join Nato.

However, she said there were "lines that can never be crossed" in negotiations with Russia, including Ukraine's "territorial integrity" and "sovereignty".

"He waka eke noa, which we are all in, without exception," she said.

"We fight like a shark... in the end, we will prevail".

New Zealand had been slower than most countries to sanction Russia, waiting to pass bespoke sanctions legislation long after the war had begun.

However, this appeared not to have bothered Zelenko, who praised New Zealand for its quick response.

"New Zealand was among the first countries to condemn Russia and impose numerous restrictive measures," she said.

Obermaier said the European Union was now looking for "the widest possible international condemnation of Russia" but said Europe had "New Zealand on our side".

The Russian Embassy was approached for comment.