Support from another part of planet: What assistance Ukraine received from Australia

Archive photo: Anthony Albanese and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (x com ZelenskyyUa)

Australia, located nearly 13,000 kilometers away from Ukraine, didn't remain indifferent after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion and actively began assisting Kyiv. This assistance includes not only weapons but also energy support.

Details of the assistance Ukraine received from Australia during the full-scale war can be found in the material by RBC-Ukraine.

Contents

・Weapon supplies

・Humanitarian and energy assistance

Weapon supplies

After February 24, 2022, Australia began assisting Ukraine with weaponry, and within a month, the first military aid package of over $15 million became known.

Later, the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Miroshnychenko, announced that Australia had transferred 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles to Ukraine. The standard configuration of the Bushmaster provides protection for the crew against 7.62mm and 5.56mm caliber bullets, and anti-personnel mines containing up to 9.5 kg of TNT equivalent.

In April, Australia announced a new package of military assistance, which included M777 howitzers and ammunition for them. In mid-summer, Canberra announced the transfer of M113 armored personnel carriers to the Ukrainian army, as well as Bushmaster armored vehicles, which were already being used in combat in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions at that time.

Several months later, Australia again delivered Bushmaster armored vehicles to Ukraine and sent a contingent of instructors to train Ukrainian troops in Europe.

Throughout 2023 and part of 2024, Australia continued to provide military support to Ukraine, including equipment for demining, portable X-ray machines, a metal 3D printer, and drone countermeasure systems.

Later it became known about the delivery of the same M113 armored vehicles, trucks, trailers, the Slinger anti-drone system, Sentinel 830R RHIB boats, portable RBS 70 NG anti-aircraft missile systems capable of destroying enemy targets at a distance of 9 kilometers. Australia later joined the drone coalition for Ukraine.

However, Australia was not able to provide all the assistance Ukraine had hoped for. The country declined to transfer F-18 Hornet fighter jets and Taipan helicopters, which Canberra decided to decommission instead.

The Ukrainian ambassador also called for the transfer of Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but so far, such a decision has not been made.

Humanitarian and energy assistance

Besides providing weapons, Australia assists Ukraine in other areas as well. Last year, the country allocated $110 million, part of which was earmarked for humanitarian aid, specifically for housing, medical services, water, and sanitation needs.

This year, it's already known that the Australian government will allocate an additional $31 million to support Ukraine - $20 million to the energy fund and $11 million to additional humanitarian aid.

However, Australia once sent a shipment of coal to Ukraine but refused to do so a second time. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that at the end of last year, Ukraine again approached Australia for similar assistance, but he decided to provide finances to Kyiv instead. This amounts to $32.5 million.

Albanese said that Australia decided not to send a new shipment of coal to Ukraine because the country is located quite far, and Kyiv can find energy resources closer to home.

Sources: statements of Former Australian officials, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko.