Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko and Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the main Ukrainian non-governmental organization in Australia, publicly called on the Australian authorities to transfer to Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks and MRH-90 Taipan helicopters.
It was reported by the Breaking Defense portal.
The statements of Myroshnychenko and Argyrou were made at Canberra’s National Press Club, which was attended by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, Shadow Defense Minister Andrew Hastie and national defense press.
“Yes, at this rate we can slowly keep going. But is that acceptable? For how many years should this war drag on? We need more, more of everything. We need enough to end this war and to defeat Russia’s invasion. ‘Hanging on’ is not enough,” the portal quoted the Ukrainian ambassador as saying.
Kateryna Argyrou, the co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations (AFUO), also called for an increase in military support for Ukraine.
“Please consider those requests because they are desperately needed and they literally go towards saving lives,” Argyrou said.
The portal notes that in 2021, Australia decided to decommission its fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters after an accident that killed Australian servicemen.
Earlier, a number of media reported that Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to Australia with a request to provide these helicopters.
Instead, the country's authorities announced their intention to disassemble helicopters for spare parts, arguing it with the interests of Australian taxpayers.
During his speech, the Ukrainian ambassador also said that Ukraine is interested in obtaining Australian Abrams tanks, which are to be replaced.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in June 2023, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said that Kyiv had asked Canberra to consider providing decommissioned F/A-18 Hornet fighters.
We also reported that earlier the Armed Forces of Ukraine expressed interest in the unmanned missile system Funnel Web of Australian production.
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