Anthony Albanese pledges new $110m military package for Ukraine

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the latest round of assistance would “make a real difference” to Ukrainians, as they “continue to show great courage in the face of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked, and immoral war”.

“It is sobering that 16 months on from Russia’s invasion, its brutal conflict continues,” Mr Albanese said.

The package, agreed to by cabinet on Monday, includes 70 military vehicles, including 28 M113 armoured vehicles, 14 Special Operations Vehicles, and trucks and trailers.

Australia will also supply 105mm artillery ammunition, and give $10 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who manage the Ukrainian humanitarian funds.

Mr Albanese said Australia would also be extending tariff- free access for goods for a further 12 months from Ukraine, to support their economy.

“We are continuing to train Ukrainian forces in the United Kingdom, and we will continue to engage with Ukraine for as long as it takes to support President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine in this struggle,” Mr Albanese said.

“This is a significant commitment, but it is one that is necessary.”

After a chaotic weekend in Russia, Australia has pledged a new package to support Ukraine as the conflict reaches a grim milestone

President Vladimir Putin faced a mutiny over the weekend when the head of his private army, the Wagner Group, threatened to stage a rebellion against the government and march on Moscow.

The threat was short lived after the Belarusian President convinced Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to retreat.

Mr Albanese had earlier said the circumstances seemed “bizarre” from a distance, but highlighted the need for more support for Ukraine’s attempt to maintain its sovereignty.

“I was briefed three times over the weekend and on each occasion there were variations because the events were moving so fast and it was unclear what was going on, with circumstances that seemed bizarre from this distance,” he told ABC News earlier.

He added that the mutiny, though avoided, was a “disaster” for Putin.

“What is very clear to me is that Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has been a disaster for the people of Ukraine most importantly, but it has also been a disaster for the people of Russia,” Mr Albanese said.

“Mr Putin thought he could just roll over international law and roll over the people of Ukraine and have regime change there.

“This has been a disaster for Mr Putin. He overplayed his hand and he got it wrong – some of the consequences of that I think we saw playing out on the weekend.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham and opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie welcomed the announcement of additional military and humanitarian support for Ukraine but said it was “too little, too late”.

“While this assistance is desperately needed and has complete bipartisan support, it’s impact on the ground would likely have been far greater had it been delivered sooner,” Senator Birmingham and Mr Hastie said in a joint statement.

“The Prime Minister confirmed this decision of additional support was only agreed to by cabinet this morning, a decision which could have been made months ago.”

The questioned why the Albanese government’s new support package didn’t include the military capabilities Ukraine had been publicly campaigning and how long it would take the new vehicles to arrive on the ground.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton echoed his colleagues concerns, saying there were more questions than answers about the additional funding, including whether it was being pulled from the existing Defence budget.

“This has taken too long and is too little in terms of what’s been provided to Ukraine,” Mr Dutton told reporters.

“We’ve seen the insanity of President Putin a long period of time now. Innocent people and their children are being slaughtered in Ukraine.”

Mr Dutton asked why the Albanese government hadn’t provided other military equipment such as Hawkei vehicles that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had directly requested.

“Frankly, they should get on with it and provide that support, because if they don’t, lives will be lost.”

Mr Albanese once again called for Mr Putin to withdraw from his illegal invasion and retreat back behind his own borders.

His latest plea to Moscow came as Russia lost a High Court bid to temporarily retain control of a block of land near Parliament House in Canberra that it had planned to build a new embassy on, pending the outcome of a more substantive legal challenge.

Russia intends to challenge in the High Court legislation the Albanese government rushed through parliament earlier this month to reclaim the land and tear up Russia’s lease, citing national security concerns.

In a bizarre twist of events, Russia had an unidentified representative – with diplomatic immunity – squat on the site last week.

Mr Albanese said on Friday he did not perceive the lone man to be a threat.

The High Court found in Australia’s favour earlier on Monday, which was welcomed by Mr Albanese.

“The court has made clear that there is no legal basis for a Russian presence to continue on the site at this time, and we expect the Russian Federation to act in accordance with the court’s ruling,” he said.