“Australia is ready to continue providing support to the Ukrainian state and its people for as long as it takes for Ukraine to gain an advantage and protect the law and order in which we all exist”
The new prime minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, promised more military aid and more sanctions against Russia during a visit to Ukraine on Sunday, July 3, 2022, that signaled continued resolve by liberal democracies to support Ukraine’s effort to rebut the Russian invasion, the New York Times reported.
In a news conference in Kyiv, the capital, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the visit as the first by an Australian prime minister to his country during their history of diplomatic relations.
Mr. Albanese visited sites of Russian brutality during the war, including Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, where Russian paratroopers executed at least eight Ukrainian men, and Hostomel, a town near Kyiv, where Russian forces held hundreds of civilians captive.
Australia plans to send Ukraine more armored vehicles and drones, among other supplies, and ban imports of Russian gold, Mr. Albanese said. According to him, Australia will send more than $100m in new aid to Ukraine including military equipment, as well as levelling sanctions on 16 new Russian officials.
“Australia is ready to continue providing support to the Ukrainian state and its people,” he said, “for as long as it takes for Ukraine to gain an advantage and protect the law and order in which we all exist.”
