With two weeks nearly elapses since Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine, thousands are believed to have died in the conflict, and over a million Ukrainians have fled into neighbouring countries.

Australia has, so far, pledged $70 million in lethal and non-lethal military aid to support Ukraine in the ongoing defence effort.

As the world collectively holds its breath, CSU political science Professor Dominic O'Sullivan said any further developments will depend on how far the rest of the world is prepared to go.

"It's still not clear whether these international contributions are going to be significant in deterring Russia," Professor O'Sullivan said.

"The Russian army does seem to be closing in on multiple fronts, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, and while the economic sanctions are having an effect, it's hard to know how far Putin will truly go."

"We're talking about an authoritarian regime where the influence of public opinion is probably not that strong."

Professor O'Sullivan said the impact of economic sanctions can have wide reaching effects on a country in terms of trade, foreign relations and social wellbeing.

"It seems NATO and the United States are looking to avoid direct military support to lessen the risk of greater Russian retaliation, so the only real bargaining chip is wearing the Russian economy thin," he said.

With Australia already providing humanitarian and military aid, Professor O'Sullivan said it'll be interesting to see the extent of the refugee exodus and whether fleeing Ukrainians will seek asylum down under.

"Australia's international reputation as a country is one that's quite hostile towards accepting refugees on humanitarian grounds, we're not seen as a fair contributor internationally," he said.

"However, the European Union has been accepting Ukrainian refugees with more warmth than those from the Middle East, so perhaps the same will also occur here as, sadly, race still plays a part in refugee policy."

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