Australia mulls military training for Ukraine forces

The Australian government says it would consider providing military training to Ukrainian forces in their war with Russia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about what further contributions Australia could make to Ukraine’s war effort.

“I conveyed to him [Zelenskyy] the condolences of the Australian people for the innocent victims who have been murdered by Russian aggression, targeting civilian locations including in Kyiv, just about a kilometer from where I was just a couple of months ago,” Albanese said, referring to a visit to Kyiv he had undertaken in July

“This is a fight not just about Ukraine’s sovereignty,” the prime minister said.

“This is a fight about the international rule of law, about whether sovereign borders will be respected and that is why the world is united in their support for Ukraine against this Russian aggression,” Albanese said.

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“We would have thought that a land war in Europe was something of the past but Russia continues to engage in these aggressive acts. We’ll continue to provide support. We are the largest non-NATO contributor,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Albanese stated that the government “certainly” is considering training Ukrainian military personnel, describing Russia’s targeting of civilians as “appalling attacks”.

Reports differed on where that training might be provided, with some news organizations saying Australian trainers would be sent to Ukraine while other reports said the training would not take place inside Ukrainian territory.

The Australian government said it had so far spent about 500 million Australian dollars ($314 million) including 388 million Australian dollars ($244 million) in military assistance to Ukraine.

Zainab Sa’id