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AAP
AAP
Politics
Alex Mitchell

Ukraine urges help after Russian strike

Ukraine wants more Australian military aid in the wake of a Russian missile strike that killed 30 people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged allies to send supplies so Ukraine can go on the counter-attack, a call answered by the United Kingdom which will send 14 tanks and other weapons.

More than 70 people including at least 13 children were rescued from a high-rise residential building hit by a Russian missile in Dnipro on Saturday.

Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said more weapons will be needed to withstand the relentless Russian attacks.

Australia has already sent 90 Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine and 70 Australian Defence Force personnel to the UK to help train Ukraine soldiers, with total support exceeding $650 million.

"At the time Australia is having a summer vacation, Ukrainians are getting killed in large numbers," Mr Myroshnychenko told ABC Radio.

"We have been very thankful to Australia ... for the armoured personnel vehicles ... however in order for us to advance and to be able to kick Russians out of Ukraine, we need a different armour and tanks provide that additional armour as well as fighting capabilities."

Mr Myroshnychenko said any support would be greatly appreciated, with another tranche of Bushmasters to provide vital assistance.

"To win this war we need to have the right weapons and to be able to drive Russians out of Ukraine," he said.

A Defence representative said the government was committed to delivering its current contribution to Ukraine and would provide a "steady flow of military assistance" in the coming months.

"The Australian government is committed to protecting the rules-based order and Australia has an excellent working relationship with Ukraine's diplomatic mission to Australia," the representative said in a statement.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australia had "proudly" already given Ukraine plenty of support and would continue to assess whether further aid was needed.

"Like most of the world, we are incredibly impressed and inspired by the courage and commitment shown by the Ukrainian people in resisting this heinous act of aggression and we will always keep under review the kind of support we provide," he told reporters.

Save the Children has called for international human rights laws to be upheld and for the United Nations Security Council to fulfil its mandate.

"The massive number of civilian casualties sends a chilling note on what the new year will look like for civilians in Ukraine," the organisation's Ukraine country director Sonia Khush said.

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