The Morrison government has signed off on some $68 million to supplxjmtzywy Ukraine with ammunition including missiles and other lethal weapons.
Scott Morrison confirmed the commitment after a meeting of the national security committee of cabinet on Tuesday as the eastern European conflict continues.
“We will be committing $50 million USD to support lethal and non lethal ammunition. The overwhelming majority of that will be in the lethal category,” the Prime Minister told reporters on Tuesday.
“We will be doing that in partnership with NATO. I’m not going to go into the specifics of that because I don’t plan to give the Russian government a heads up of what's coming there.”
Mr Morrison said Australia was answering the call of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who turned down a US offer to evacuate him from Kyiv by saying he needed ammunition rather than “a ride”.
More than 100 Ukrainian civilians are said to have died since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive targeting the smaller nation late last week.
Australia’s pledge of financial military aid follows broad economic sanctions imposed on Russia by Western allies.
