Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said that his country would provide further military support to Ukraine, including Bushmaster armored vehicles.
“We’re not just sending our prayers,” Morrison said in a press conference in western Sydney, clarifying some of the new package’s details.
“We’re sending our guns, we’re sending our munitions, we’re sending our humanitarian aid, we’re sending all of these things and we’re going to be sending our armored vehicles, our Bushmasters as well.
“And we’re flying them over there on our C-17s to make sure they can be there to support.”
Morrison’s statement came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for more military help and specifically for the Australian-built troop carrier, in an address to Australian lawmakers via videolink.
Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton said that Australia would be providing additional 25 million Australian dollars (18.7 million U.S. dollars) of defensive military assistance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces including “tactical decoys, unmanned aerial and unmanned ground systems, rations and medical supplies.”
In a joint statement, however, Dutton and Morrison said the Canberra government would “not disclose further specific details of the package or delivery arrangements at the direct request of Ukrainian officials and other partners.”
Australia said that the new package would bring the total military assistance to Ukraine so far to 116 million U.S. dollars.
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“Australia stands with Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion,” Morrison and Dutton said in the joint statement.
