Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is to announce a new package of support for Ukraine during or just before his visit to the NATO summit in Lithuania in July,but Ukraine’s top request for assistance looks unlikely to feature in the announcement.
In a letter sent to a member of the public earlier this month on behalf of Defence Minister Richard Marles,a senior Department of Defence official said:“We are aware of calls to provide[the] Hawkei to Ukraine.
“The Hawkei is a developmental vehicle that is only now being introduced into service across the ADF[Australian Defence Force].
“The combination of an unresolved braking issue and a limited supply of parts means that the gifting of the Hawkei is unsupportable at this time.
Loading
“The government is considering options for further support to Ukraine,which it will announce in due course.”
Members of the Ukrainian-Australian community have been running a #freetheHawkei campaign including rallies across the country and a large billboard near Canberra Airport that greets federal politicians arriving in the capital.