Australia will not supply Kyiv with coal to help it cope with the energy crisis following Russia's massive missile strikes, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told ABC radio.
"The support that we are providing now is largely focused on military assistance to enable Ukraine to fight this conflict with Russia," Marles said.
According to him, Canberra is committed to making its support "consistent and sustained so that it brings practical benefits to Ukraine", but it has to take into account the fact that Australia is "on the other side of the world".
Marles reminded that Canberra is already involved in the "Ukrainian Armed Forces artillery support programme" and a number of other programmes, including one designed to provide Kyiv with drones.
Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Canberra would not send 80,000 tonnes of coal to Ukraine, as requested by Kyiv.
He noted that "there is coal much closer to Ukraine and it can be used instead of being shipped from Australia".
The prime minister also stressed that even without the coal shipment, Australia "is one of the largest non-NATO donors to Ukraine".
Since March 2022, Canberra has allocated more than $700 million to help Kyiv. Of this, about $584 million was spent on the purchase of weapons and ammunition. Australia has also provided Kyiv with 120 Bushmaster armoured personnel carriers, M777 howitzers, M113 armoured vehicles, anti-tank weapons and drones.
At the same time, in 2022, Australia has already sent about 80,000 tonnes of coal to Ukraine, spending almost $20 million.
At the end of last year, Kyiv again asked Canberra to provide similar assistance, but the Australian authorities allocated $32.5 million for the purchase of fuel instead.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Miroshnychenko, made a new request for coal supplies after Russian missile strikes earlier this spring that destroyed nearly 90% of the country's thermal power plant capacity. He noted that supplies are critical for the country and a matter of its survival.
Background. Earlier it became known that Australia has imposed sanctions against 6 Russian companies involved in the transportation of weapons from North Korea.