The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia, Richard Marles, has announced another $100 million package of military assistance to Ukraine.
"Australia will stay with Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to win this war. To that end, we are announcing today another $100 million package of assistance to Ukraine," Marles said at a joint briefing with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Lviv on Saturday.
According to him, $50 million of this amount will be spent on short-range air defence systems. Another $30 million will be used to buy drones, as Australia is part of a drone coalition with the UK and Latvia. The rest of the amount will be used to purchase auxiliary equipment, from inflatable boats to helmets and boots.
He also added that Australia was able to provide Ukraine with air-to-ground munitions.
"We understand that this conflict will be very long, and we will provide more in the future because we are determined to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the minister said.
Shmyhal wrote on his telegram channel that Australia's support for Ukraine has already totalled more than $655 million, of which $540 million is military aid.
"We really appreciate the solidarity of the Australian people with Ukraine. I am grateful to Mr Richard Marles for his deep involvement in Ukrainian affairs, for his effective solidarity, for the concrete things that Australia is doing for Ukraine," Shmyhal wrote.
Background. The day before, it became known that the Ramstein coalition pledged to allocate more than $95 billion for military assistance to Ukraine over the next 2 years.