UAP leader Craig Kelly invites 'Aussie Cossack' Simeon Boikov into Parliament, as Convoy to Canberra 'peak' fizzles

Mr Kelly invited Simeon Boikov - nicknamed "the Aussie Cossack" - into Parliament House on Tuesday with a group representing the anti-vaccine protests engulfing the capital.

Mr Boikov called for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be "liquidated" during an interview with the ABC last year.

He has also described Australia as an "enemy state" in an interview with Russian media, saying he had a "unique opportunity" to support Moscow from within, Four Corners revealed in 2021.

Australian-born Mr Boikov leads the Zabaikal Cossack Society of Australia, a far-right nationalist group which supported Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Katja Theodorakis, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's counter-terrorism program, described Mr Boikov as a "self-declared agent of influence for the Kremlin".

Ms Theodorakis said his presence in the heart of Australian democracy should "send alarm bells ringing".

"When he's not helping Craig Kelly rally against 'violations of democracy', he heads a paramilitary-style outfit and has reportedly referred to Putin as their Commander-in-Chief," she said.

"If the presence of a self-declared agent of influence for the Kremlin is not recognised as a threat to democratic integrity and the dignity of our democratic process, we're showing ourselves clueless about what extremism and foreign interference look like."

It was unclear whether security officers at Parliament were aware of Mr Boikov's background when he was allowed into the building. The Department of Parliamentary Services had not responded to The Canberra Times' questions by the time of print.

Mr Boivok reportedly travelled to Moscow and Ukraine to show support for Russian separatists sanctioned by Australia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014. He has also reportedly been monitored by Australian security agencies.

Russian opposition leader and Putin critic Alexei Navalny survived being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in 2020, in an attack widely attributed to the Kremlin.

When pressed on the incident by the ABC last year, Mr Boikov called for Mr Navalny to be "liquidated".

"They should have done it properly ... I wouldn't say murdering, I would say liquidating. Murdering is a bad word," he said.

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Mr Boikov has also been pictured at rallies for Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, where he was awarded a plaque acknowledging their friendship with Russian separatists.

Mr Kelly did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr Boikov's visit to Parliament came amid fears Russia will launch a land invasion of Ukraine, with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warning the continent was facing its "most dangerous moment" since the Cold War.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday said Australia was "highly concerned about the deteriorating situation", urging Australian citizens to leave Ukraine if possible.

"We hold out real concerns about where this will ultimately lead to. Australia supports Ukraine's sovereignty and their territorial integrity. And we will continue to stand with them on these issues," he told reporters.

Anti-vaccine mandate protesters again descended on Parliament House on Tuesday, more than a week after they first demonstrated in the capital for the end of vaccine mandates.

Mr Kelly invited the delegation into Parliament House to hand a statement of demands to the Prime Minister.

The group wrote a list of demands in Mr Kelly's office, where they also posed for photos in front of a media scrum.

Mr Kelly attempted to contact Mr Morrison to organise a meeting. The Prime Minister did not answer.

Mr Boikov then filmed Mr Kelly and the rest of the delegation as they departed to Mr Morrison's office to hand over the papers.

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The Convoy to Canberra movement - largely driven by anti-vaccine conspiracies and demanding the end of vaccine mandates - has targeted multiple political sites in the capital, as well as businesses complying with COVID-19 regulations.

Police had been braced for protests to "peak" on Tuesday, with politicians returning to Parliament for the first sitting week of 2022.

But despite organisers billing the day as a major event, turnout appeared significantly smaller than on Saturday.

Liberal senator Gerard Rennick appeared at the demonstration early on Tuesday, saying he would fight to ensure children were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Mr Rennick, who has no medical training, has regularly questioned the jab's safety.

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