The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) remains profoundly disappointed by the Government’s decision to reject Ukraine’s request for Taipan helicopters and urges the Albanese Government to make fresh commitments to support Ukraine. “We were buoyed by the reaction to our community rallies on the Taipans. In Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart, the … [Read more...]

We congratulate our community, which came out in force last week to ask why Australia was burying its Taipan helicopters instead of sending them to Ukraine to conduct medical evacuations.   Rallies were held in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart, securing strong media coverage. Letters to the Editor were published from community members. Stefan Romaniw, AFUO … [Read more...]

Today we celebrate Ukrainian Unity Day (Den' Sobornosti), the anniversary of the unification of eastern and western Ukraine in 1919. Historically, up until 1919, these parts of Ukraine - the Ukraine's People Republic and West Ukrainian People’s Republic – belonged to different empires. On January 22, 1919, the Treaty of Unity was signed in Kyiv, fulfilling the dreams … [Read more...]

On 9 News tonight, AFUO Co-Chair, Stefan Romaniw, urged the Australian Government to send the Taipans with speed to Ukraine to help win the war against Russian aggression. In the report, the Shadow Defence Minister, Andrew Hastie, and defence industry analyst Peter Jennings, call for an inquiry into why the 45 Taipan helicopters are being chopped up and buried, when they … [Read more...]

The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) is urging the Australian Government to send its retired fleet of Taipan helicopters to Ukraine, rather than spending millions to bury them in landfill. “The Australian Defence Force has said they don’t want these helicopters anymore. But instead of recycling them and agreeing to Ukraine’s official request, the … [Read more...]

The Australian-Ukrainian community was honoured to farewell Australian Defence Force (ADF) soldiers departing Darwin for the United Kingdom this week to join partner nations in providing critical training to Ukrainian infantry recruits. The contingent of 90 ADF personnel have been deployed as part of Operation Kudu, which assists the UK-led and based training program … [Read more...]

As Russia intensifies its war against Ukraine in 2024 with unprecedented missile strikes and drone attacks across the country, killing civilians and damaging critical infrastructure, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) is urging community members & supporters to email their local MP to ask for more Australian Government military aid for … [Read more...]

Meet Elina Svitolina, Ukraine’s most successful tennis player of all time, at a special gathering with the Ukrainian community in Melbourne on Friday 12 January at the Essendon Ukrainian Hall at 6:00pm! In Australia to compete at the Australian Open, Elina is a true champion - on and off the court. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Elina has: The … [Read more...]

Over the past 24 hours, Russia has launched one of its most significant air attacks against Ukraine, murdering at least 30 civilians and injuring over 130. Russian cruise missiles, drones, bombers, and rockets hit Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and other cities. Russia targeted residential buildings, a maternity hospital, schools, and parking lots to murder … [Read more...]

The first 40 foot container full of medical and humanitarian aid has been sent from Melbourne to Lviv, funded by the Ukraine Crisis Appeal (UCA).  This huge undertaking was made possible by the tireless assistance of our wonderful supporters at Rotary Donations in Kind in Footscray, Rotary Gdynia (Poland) and Rotary Lviv, where the aid will be received and distributed in … [Read more...]