Australia announces $74 million military package for Ukraine including armored vehicles

Asia-Pacific, News June 27, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The Australian government has pledged to provide a new $74 million (AU$110 million) assistance package to Ukraine on June 26, 2023. The latest military package would provide armored vehicles and ammunition to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Canberra’s latest military assistance for Ukraine. During a news conference, Albanese said that “This additional support will make a real difference, helping the Ukrainian people who continue to show great courage in the face of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked, and immoral war.”

He added that the latest military package was not prompted by the recent events that unfolded in Russia over the weekend when the heavily armored Russian mercenary force, the Wagner Group, started to march toward Moscow posing the biggest threat to Putin’s grip on power. “No, we have been working on this proposal, with a view to taking it to cabinet this morning, for some time,” Albanese said during a news briefing.

Australia’s latest military aid package comprises 70 armored military vehicles including 28 M113 armored vehicles, 14 Special Operations Vehicles, 28 MAN 40M medium trucks, and 14 trailers. Australia would also provide 105 mm artillery ammunition to Ukraine.

Australia continues to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to resolve this conflict on its own terms.

Our Government is pleased to announce today additional support which will make a practical difference on the battlefield. pic.twitter.com/yVyfApeTFS
— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) June 26, 2023

A portion of the recently announced package would be used to address humanitarian issues in Ukraine through United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said that he was “proud” of the additional military support that Canberra has arranged for Ukraine. “We expect this to be a protracted conflict, and so we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Marles told reporters.

The Australian government also announced extending duty-free access for goods imported from Ukraine for further 12 months. This move would help Ukraine in economic recovery and trade opportunities.

Australia is one of the biggest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine for its war against Russia. The recent military package has brought Australia’s total contribution to Ukraine’s war to $530 million.

^{Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese (R), Defence Minister Richard Marles (C), and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Penny Wong (L) speaking during a press conference. (Image Credit: Twitter/Anthony Albanese)}

The package did not include the Hawkei light armored patrol vehicles and the Bushmaster infantry vehicles, two specific kinds of armored vehicles that Ukraine had requested from Australia along with its retired fighter jets. While Kyiv has publicly welcomed the announcement for additional military support, experts and observers believe that Ukraine would be disappointed by the limited scope of the aid in a pivotal moment as its forces are pushing for the long-awaited counter-offensive with substantial success and some setbacks.

Some experts believe that the M113 armored vehicles from the Vietnam War era would make little to no difference for Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. The Australian army is phasing out the M113 vehicles which have been in use since 1964. Marles, however, backed his country’s decision to send M113s to Ukraine by saying that these vehicles were more suitable than the Hawkei because they were not designed to be delivered by helicopter.