Up to 70 Australian defence force personnel will be deployed to the UK to train Ukrainian troops in the latest increase in Australia’s support for Kyiv.
The Albanese government announced the decision late on Wednesday while emphasising that the ADF members would not be entering Ukrainian territory.
It also said it would provide Ukraine with 30 more Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, bringing to 90 the total number promised since Russia’s invasion.
The government has been signalling for months that Australia might join other countries in training Ukrainian troops as part of longer term assistance, but has not confirmed the details until now.
It says up to 70 ADF members will fly to the UK in January to join Operation Interflex, a mission that also involves personnel from other countries including New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Finland. Ukrainian troops, including new recruits, have been travelling to the UK for training under this program.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, said it was increasingly clear that Ukraine faced “a protracted conflict”.
“Our soldiers will be part of a large training program in the United Kingdom to help prepare their Ukrainian mates for their struggle against Russia’s unwarranted and unlawful aggression,” he said.
Marles said the Australian-provided Bushmaster vehicles had already been “used extensively by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with more requested by the Ukrainian president, minister for defence, and the ambassador”.
The total value of Australia’s support to Ukraine now stands at $655m, including $475m in military assistance.
The announcement comes a day after the Albanese government’s first budget allocated an extra $213m over five years to provide help to Ukraine. This amount covers funding added since the Coalition’s final pre-election budget.
It is understood the cost of the additional military assistance announced late on Wednesday will be absorbed by the defence department.
Perviously announced aid includes armoured vehicles, anti-armour weapons, de-mining equipment to remove explosive ordnance, unmanned aerial systems, decoys and remotely operated vehicles.
But it remains unclear exactly how many vehicles have arrived in Ukraine so far, with the government citing the need for operational security on delivery dates.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australia would “continue to stand up for freedom and democracy” and was unequivocal in condemning the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“This is a not just about Ukraine’s sovereignty,” Albanese said. “The brave people of Ukraine are defending international law, rules and norms.”
While Australian politicians have largely been united in voicing support for Ukraine as it seeks to regain territory seized by Russia, there have been exceptions.
Gerard Rennick, a Liberal National party backbencher, made a speech to the Senate on Tuesday that was sharply at odds with the Coalition’s position.
Rennick denounced “the stupidity of the Biden-Nato administration” and accused the US of “overthrowing” democracy in Ukraine eight years ago.
He cited the stances of US commentators Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson as proof that Americans “do not want to get entrapped in a war that has nothing to do with them”.
Australia and the US were among 144 UN member states to vote at the general assembly in New York against recognising Russia’s purported annexation of four Ukrainian regions. The Australian government has said the Russian-arranged votes in those regions were a “sham”.
But Rennick called for the those regions “to be given the choice of self-determination”.
He said: “Provided that voting is conducted fairly, then surely a democratic outcome in Ukraine is better than continuing the bloodshed, is it not?”
Just a day earlier, the Coalition’s spokesperson on foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, said Putin was “a major risk to the world” because of his threats to use nuclear weapons, and Australia must remain steadfast “in support of Ukraine and the clear defeat of Putin”.
