The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) warmly welcomes the Albanese Government’s announcement of an additional $31 million in assistance to help meet Ukraine’s energy and humanitarian needs.
“The Ukrainian community in Australia is pleased to see the package of support announced today by the Albanese Government. We deeply appreciate Australia’s contribution to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, set up by the European Union and the Ukrainian Government. This latest contribution will help provide essential heat and electricity for Ukrainians and will go some way to alleviating some of the immense suffering being faced across the country,” said Stefan Romaniw OAM, co-chair of the AFUO.
“We also welcome the $11 million which is going to the United Nations — $10 million to provide water, food, and shelter to Ukrainians, and $1 million to support the many people who have been maimed and left disabled by Russia’s brutal attacks,” Mr Romaniw said.
“This support comes at a crucial time, with Russia intensifying its attacks in Ukraine’s north-east and now using deadly glide bombs to wreak havoc. Together with missiles, these attacks have targeted Ukraine’s energy sector, residential neighborhoods, schools and hospitals, and are used to terrorise the population.
“In the third year of Russia’s war against Ukraine, our community has been calling on the government to increase the frequency, scale and ambition of Australia’s support for Ukraine. It is important for Australia and the free world that Ukraine wins this fight — to protect the rules-based order and restore global food, energy and environmental security.
“Australian support should also keep up with the strong support coming from like-minded countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. For a period of time in 2022, Australia was the leading non-NATO contributor to Ukraine. We are now fifth, and the lowest-ranked donor among developed G20 countries,” said Mr Romaniw.
“Today’s announcement comes a few weeks after the Deputy Prime Minister was in Ukraine where he announced $100 million of additional support, so we’re optimistic that our advocacy is being heard by the Government. A step-change in Australia’s support was needed, so now we must keep the momentum up because Ukraine’s needs are immense. We believe a whole-of-government approach to coordinating support for Ukraine would assist,” concluded Mr Romaniw.
