At a meeting with the Ukrainian community in Geelong, the Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles reiterated Australia’s ongoing support for Ukraine and was visibly moved when reading messages from a flag signed by members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Deputy PM spoke about the role of Bushmasters and his admiration for the commitment of Ukrainian recruits in the UK participating in Operation Kudu, the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) program to train Ukrainian army volunteers. The Australian government recently announced a $186 million expansion of the initiative, which will deploy an additional 20 personnel to the UK-led training mission next year.
ADF members about to leave for the UK for the latest round of training (who had dinner with the Association of Ukrainians in SA last night) joined the meeting by Zoom and said it was ‘an honour to assist in the training program’.
The Deputy PM also signed a drone which will be sent by the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO)’s Defend Ukraine Appeal to the frontlines to help save lives.
AFUO Co-Chair Stefan Romaniw OAM raised the possibility of the Government providing Ukraine with highly sophisticated Canadian-developed reconnaissance drones for border control.
The meeting, attended by 150 community members, was organised by the AFUO and the Association of Ukrainians in Victoria and featured a discussion between the Deputy PM and the Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, moderated by well-known Ukrainian-Australian academic, writer and business consultant Dr Michael Lawriwsky.
#AFUO_In_Action #AFUO
