Ukraine appeals to Australia and France for more ammunition as it marks two years since Russian invasion

Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko says more ammunition from Australia and France would make ‘a meaningful contribution’. Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP

Ukraine is appealing to Australia and France to deliver more ammunition to the country as it marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, also urged western leaders not to succumb to “fatigue” over the protracted war, saying: “I think the only country which can feel fatigue can be Ukraine, actually, because we are the ones who are being killed.”

France and Australia announced early last year that they would jointly provide 155-millimetre ammunition to Ukraine, although they never disclosed the quantities to be delivered through the multimillion-dollar deal.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, Myroshnychenko said this has proven to be “very good cooperation between Australia and France in terms of Australia providing explosives and manufacturing being done in France”.

Myroshnychenko confirmed that this project had been completed and the ammunition had “already been delivered to Ukraine”.

Pressed on whether Ukraine was now asking for that same channel to be used again to deliver more ammunition, he said: “Yes, absolutely.”

He said if the Australian and French governments renewed the program, it would make “a meaningful contribution to improve Ukraine’s defence capabilities”.

“If there is a possibility to continue this kind of cooperation, we would really appreciate it, because I think it was very practical and something that Australia could do and could probably continue doing,” he said.

Saturday marks two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although the conflict began in 2014 with Moscow’s invasion and annexation of Crimea and fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Myroshnychenko conceded that Ukraine was “concerned” about events in the US Congress, where approval of a $60bn package was being stalled as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives pushes for more border funding.

He said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was “betting on that potential fatigue which can come”, but Ukrainians had demonstrated they could “fight capably if we are duly equipped”.

He said his country was grateful for Australia’s support, including “really effective” Bushmaster vehicles.

The Albanese government last week announced a further $50m grant to the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine. This brought Australia’s total overall support to Ukraine to $960m, including $780m in military aid.

But Myroshnychenko said the dismantling of Australia’s grounded fleet of MRH90 Taipan helicopters was a “missed opportunity” for Ukraine.

He hoped Ukraine would be considered for access “if there is any other equipment which will be surplus to the defence needs of Australia”, adding that it would be in Australia’s interests to “make a decisive difference towards ending this war”.

“If this war continues, we will see further impact on Australians’ cost of living, including through the prices of fuel, fertiliser and food, as well as more instability in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

Myroshnychenko said he hoped Australia’s ambassador to Ukraine would be able to be based in the country “soon”, while acknowledging it was up to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to make the decision based on security assessments.

“Definitely that would of huge help, because when you have somebody on the ground, somebody who would have access to all the stakeholders in Ukraine, it provides for better communication.”

On Saturday the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said the government should “reinstate an Australian embassy in Kyiv and join the more than 67 other diplomatic missions which have already returned”.

Dutton, together with his opposition frontbench colleagues Simon Birmingham and Andrew Hastie, also called on the government to “reverse their decision and donate Australia’s out of service MRH-90 Taipan helicopters to Ukraine”.

“The Coalition has given bipartisan support to every announcement made subsequent to Australia’s change in government,” they said in a joint statement.

“Regrettably, the Albanese Labor government has not maintained the standard the Coalition set.”

However, government sources said Australia continued to “work with our partners about providing meaningful support for Ukraine”.

A spokesperson for the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said Australia stood with Ukraine “in support of its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion”.

“Two years on, we honour the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people and its government in the face of Russia’s aggression,” the spokesperson said.

World Vision said more than 3.3 million children had been displaced or caught in the crossfire as violence worsened in Ukraine.

“Children are faced with attacks, blackouts and uncertainty – they’re going to school in bomb shelters and their days are punctuated by air raid sirens and the stress of explosions,” the World Vision chief executive, Daniel Wordsworth, said.

“Children shouldn’t have to grow up like this, having to deal with very real fears of what could happen tomorrow.”

In an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this month, Putin described US support for Ukraine as “harmful and mistaken” and praised former president Donald Trump for casting a shadow over Nato’s long-term future.