Australia strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We condemn Russia's unilateral, illegal and immoral aggression against the people of Ukraine and we have consistently called on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.
More than two years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Australia mourns Ukraine's losses, and we continue unwavering in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty.
Australia remains steadfast in supporting Ukraine to defend itself, and to holding those responsible for Russia's illegal and immoral invasion to account.
In early 2024 the Australian Government imposed further targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 55 persons, and targeted financial sanctions on 37 entities.
The new sanctions target those involved in Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children from regions under temporary Russian control. This follows the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for President Putin and Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deportation.
We have also sanctioned targets in Russia's defence, energy, media and minerals sectors, as well as targets involved in Russia's procurement networks in Belarus, Iran and North Korea. These sanctions reflect the Australian Government's position that those supporting Russia's illegal war will face consequences.
Australia has now imposed more than 1,200 sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Added sanctions build on the earlier announcement that the Albanese Government is providing $50 million to the International Fund for Ukraine, directly supporting the procurement of priority military capabilities.
On 27 April 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP visited Ukraine to meet with his counterparts, Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and to see first-hand the tragic costs of Russia’s unrelenting attacks.
There he announced an additional $100 million of military assistance to Ukraine, including $50 million for short range air defence systems and a $50 million package of military assistance with the support of Australian defence industry, of which $30 million provided for uncrewed aerial systems (drones).
This takes Australia’s military assistance to $880 million since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and brings Australia’s overall support for Ukraine to over $1 billion. Some of which has included:
- 120 Bushmasters,
- 56 M113 armoured vehicles,
- 6 M777 155mm Howitzers,
- trucks, trailers and special operations vehicles,
- ammunition and anti-armour weapons,
- body armour, personal combat equipment and clothing,
- counter drone systems,
- Australian defence industry packages, and
- financial contributions to NATO and the UK to purchase and deliver military assistance to Ukraine on Australia’s behalf.
In addition to this, Australian Defence Force personnel deployed to the United Kingdom have trained over 1800 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel through Operation Kudu.
Australia also deployed a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail to the region for six months, which helped protect a vital gateway of international humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine. To support the supply of critically important drones to Ukraine, Australia has also joined the UK and Latvia-led Drone Capability Coalition.
The Australian Government remains in close contact with the Ukrainian Embassy and our partners to ensure we are making the most effective contributions. Despite the distance between our two nations, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents a challenge to the global rules-based order on which Australia’s security and prosperity relies.
Ukraine must prevail in this war on its own terms and as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, Australia remains committed to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes to achieve that.
