Prime Minister Albanese: Australia will not hand over Hawkei vehicles because they do not suit Kiev
Australia will not transfer Hawkei armoured vehicles and Bushmaster armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio.
“There are a number of reasons why in this case sending equipment that is not going to give better support to people in war will not help those you are trying to help,” the official said.
At the same time, he did not specify for what reason this equipment is not suitable for Ukraine.
According to news.com.au, opposition leader and former Australian interior minister Peter Dutton said that the government’s refusal to provide Ukraine with Hawkei vehicles would damage Australia’s international reputation, and “if there are problems with the vehicles, let them be solved in Ukraine”.
Responding to the criticism, Albanese stressed that “it is easy to make a statement without examining the issue, <…> Hawkei is not suitable.”
The Australian government on Monday announced a new A$110 million (about $74 million) military aid package for Ukraine.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, citing sources, wrote about Canberra’s intention to hand over Hawkei armoured vehicles to Kiev in early June.
Russia has repeatedly said that supplies of foreign weapons to Ukraine only prolong the confrontation. As Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed, the USA and NATO countries are already directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, not only by supplying weapons, but also by training AFU troops on their territory.
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