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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday pledged further military support to Ukraine, including armored vehicles and drones, as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev.
Making the first ever visit to Ukraine by an Australian prime minister, Albanese told a news conference in Kiev that his country would give Ukraine “a hundred million dollars in military support”, without specifying whether he meant Australian dollars.
That figure in Australian dollars would amount to $68 million.
The prime minister specified that Australia would provide additional military equipment requested by Ukraine, including 14 armored personnel carriers, 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles and a number of drones.
Zelenskyy said Australia was providing Ukraine with “substantial assistance, in particular defense support” and that Ukrainian forces “highly valued” the Bushmaster vehicle.
Albanese visited the towns of Bucha and Irpin where Russian forces allegedly committed war crimes, as well as the airport in Gostomel northwest of Kiev.
“It is my great honor to be the first Australian prime minister to visit Ukraine,” he said, adding that his trip “would show the world very clearly the solidarity that exists between the Australian people and the people of Ukraine.”
He paid tribute to the “courage, endurance, courage and determination” of the president, defense forces and the people of Ukraine, saying they were “determined to resist an aggressor who is violating international law without any provocation or justification”.
Voice of America writes that the Australian politician also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would get “the welcome he deserves” if he attends a G-20 summit in Bali in November, as the Kremlin has suggested.
“If it is the case that Mr. Putin attends that meeting … he will receive the welcome he deserves, which is not a friend, of someone who respects the international rule of law.” said the Australian prime minister.
At the same time, he said that he could not imagine that Australia would boycott the event, while “we believe in isolating Russia as much as possible”.
Albani came to Ukraine after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday.
Ukraine last month announced that an Australian man had died while fighting for the International Defense Legion of Ukraine, an official volunteer brigade.
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