Australia will fund the supply of weapons to the government of Ukraine to help it fight Russian forces invading the country, stepping up its support days after saying it would only provide “non-lethal” military equipment.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to cabinet colleagues on Sunday morning to start sending the military supplies to Ukraine through allies such as the United States and NATO partners in Europe.
Speaking after joining Ukrainian-Australians at a church service in Sydney, the Prime Minister also signalled more humanitarian aid after the government spoke to the Ukrainian community about taking refugees who are fleeing the war.
Mr Morrison spoke to Defence Minister Peter Dutton on Sunday to arrange the expansion in military support, first announced on Friday as a commitment to send “non-lethal” supplies after talks with the Ukrainian community in Australia.
“The Australian government will continue to stand up for what is right when it comes to Ukraine,” Mr Morrison said.
“We are already providing significant support in terms of non-lethal aid but I’ve just spoken to the Defence Minister and we’ll be seeking to provide whatever support we can for lethal aid through our NATO partners, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom.
“We’ll be working through those channels because that’s the most effective way to do it.
“They are already providing support in these areas and we will be assisting them with what they are doing.”
The commitment follows a dramatic shift in support from NATO members in recent days including a pledge from Germany to send 1000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles.
Belgium said on Saturday it would send 2000 machine guns and thousands of tonnes of fuel to the Ukrainian army, while the Netherlands said it had already delivered sniper rifles and helmets and was going to send 200 Stinger missiles.
Agence France-Presse reported the Czech Republic was delivering 30,000 pistols, 7000 assault rifles, 3000 machine guns, several dozen sniper guns and about a million cartridges.
Ukraine’s charge d’Affaires in Canberra, Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, told this masthead that even simple military equipment, such as body armour and helmets, could help.
Ukraine has not asked Australia for troops and Mr Shalkivskyi has emphasised the supply of non-lethal equipment in recent days, but Mr Morrison significantly expanded the commitment on Sunday to include lethal military supplies.
The government decision is based on a calculation that the fastest and most effective way to provide weapons to Ukraine is to fund the supplies and have them delivered by the US, UK and other NATO members rather than deliver them from Australia.
On humanitarian support, Mr Morrison said Australia would do more “heavy-lifting” including the rapid processing of visa applications from Ukrainians, saying they were the “top priority” for the government.
