Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told ABC:
• “We now expect this to be a long-term struggle.”
• “We realize that Ukraine now needs long-term support, if we are going to put Ukraine in a position where it can resolve this conflict in its own way.”
• “Australian forces that will arrive in Britain in January will join an international training led by Britain, but they will not enter the war zone in Ukraine.”
The latest package brings Australia’s support for Ukraine to about A$655 million ($425 million), since the Russian military offensive began last February.
Australia, one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine’s Western support, provides aid and military equipment to Kiev and has banned the export of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia.
It also imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russian individuals and entities.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked Australia for the recent assistance.
“(Bushmaster) Armored Vehicles have achieved excellent results on the battlefield and we are asking for more from them. We will always remember Australia’s support,” he tweeted.
Ukrainian forces advanced to the Russian-occupied Kherson province, threatening Moscow with a major defeat, amid Russian maneuvers simulating nuclear war.
Russia also accused Kyiv of ordering two organizations to make a “dirty bomb”, a bomb containing radioactive materials, without providing any evidence, and Kyiv denies having any such plans.
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