Australia asked to step up military aid to Ukraine

SYDNEY – Ukraine has asked Australia to increase military aid ahead of next week’s visit to Europe by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marls.

Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine’s war effort, supplying missiles and Bushmaster armored personnel carriers. It has a special “V” shaped floor designed to disperse the impact of an explosion more effectively than a traditional flat floor. A group of up to 70 Australian Defense Force personnel are also stationed in the UK to help train the Ukrainian army.

Germany and the US promises to deliver tanks to Ukraine put pressure on Australia to increase military aid to Kyiv, analysts say.

Vasyl Miroshnichenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Friday that he hoped Canberra would step up its military support to the country.

“Australia could choose to send more Bushmasters,” he said. “The important thing is that Australia continues to support Ukraine. I am very grateful, the army that is now in the UK will be training Ukrainian soldiers.We appreciate it.It is really a big help.

The United States is the largest supplier of arms and equipment to Ukraine, followed by the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany and Canada.

Australia has also imposed sweeping sanctions against Russia, the toughest ever imposed on a foreign government.

Since the civil war started almost a year ago, Australia has issued visas to about 9,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Canberra condemned “Russia’s unilateral, illegal and immoral aggression against the people of Ukraine” and said the aggression “is a grave violation of international law”.

Wong and Maruls are heading to France next week to break into a diplomatic rift sparked by Canberra’s abrupt cancellation of a lucrative submarine deal with Paris in 2021 in favor of a new alliance with the United States and Britain (the AUKUS agreement). will try to repair the

They also plan to travel to the UK for a ministerial meeting.