Eurovision finalists Tvorchi pleading for Australia to send Hawkei armoured vehicles to Ukraine.Credit:Twitter
The army has said the number of parts required to sustain the vehicles in Ukraine would make the entire Australian fleet unusable.
“We would have to move the entire supply chain to Ukraine,” a source familiar with the army’s thinking said.
Liberal senator David Van,chair of the parliamentary Friends of Ukraine group,said it was “complete bollocks” that the vehicles could not be sent to Ukraine.
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“There are 450 Hawkeis sitting in the Thales compound in Bendigo. Why won’t we send them?”
He said the braking issue only mattered when driving at 100 kilometres an hour on the road and would not affect Ukrainian soldiers given they would be driving at lower speeds on fields and in woodlands.
The package of assistance to be announced next week could possibly include donations of Australian Abrams tanks.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia,Vasyl Myroshnychenko,said the main advantage of the Hawkei would be acting as a mobile launch platform for the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System it was using on the battlefield.
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“This state-of-the-art air defence system is already in use in Ukraine and proves to be a game changer in defending Ukrainian cities and civilians from aerial attacks,” he said.
Kateryna Argyrou,co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations,said:“We urge the Australian government to free the Hawkei,so we can secure victory together.”
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