Defence Minister Richard Marles has unveiled an additional $100m aid package for Ukraine, including “critical” precision weapons, as Kyiv pleads for international support.
Announced overnight during Mr Marles’ brief visit to Ukraine, the new funding will include $50m for short range air defence systems and air-to-ground munitions.
A further $30m will be spent on uncrewed aerial systems, while an additional $15m will go toward “high-priority” equipment such as helmets, boats and generators.
Mr Marles said Australia remained “committed to supporting Ukraine to resolve the conflict on its terms” as the full-scale war with neighbouring Russia entered its third year.
“I am pleased to announce an additional $100m of military assistance, including world leading drone technology, with the support of local Australian defence industry,” he said.
“Ukraine and its people have endured two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion but their spirit remains strong. This was reaffirmed during my meeting with Prime Minister Shmyhal.”
Mr Marles also reiterated support for Australia’s assistance in training the Ukrainian military as part of the multinational war effort involving Poland and the United Kingdom.
The announcement brings Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine since early-2022 to $880m, including 120 Bushmaster vehicles and six Howitzer artillery guns.
It comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces one of his most significant challenges since the outbreak of war in early-2022 as Russia seeks to capitalise on supply shortfalls.
The United States congress this week signed off on a long-awaited $145bn military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, after opposition from some Republicans.
In a tweet overnight, Mr Zelenskyy said while he was “grateful to the United States and all of our partners”, more needed to be done to beat back Russian missile attacks.
“This night, 34 Russian missiles targeted Ukraine. We managed to intercept a portion of them. However, the world has all of the resources to assist us intercepting every missile,” he said.
“This is completely doable. All that is required is for the necessary political decisions and agreements to be implemented … We must make every effort to ensure that life prevails.”
Mr Marles also met with his counterpart in a visit to Poland where he thanked the Polish government for its support in the six-month deployment of Australian E-7A Wedgetail aircraft.