MOSCOW, Jun 27 Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in On Australian radio ABC, she said she was disappointed by opposition criticism of the government's $74 million military aid package to Ukraine.
On Monday, the Australian government announced a new A$110 million (about $74 million) military aid package for Kyiv. Australia will also supply 105mm artillery shells to Ukraine, as well as $10 million ($6.6 million) to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which manages the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.
«Negative rhetoric is now operating in an area where the government has hitherto enjoyed bipartisan support is truly disappointing,» Wong said.
According to the Foreign Minister, the opposition considered the aid package «absolutely unimpressive», although the new support measures were worked out jointly by the Australian Ministry of Defense and the government of Ukraine.
«Since last June, the Australian government <…> has more than doubled the amount spent on military support for Ukraine,» Wong added.
Russia sent a note to NATO countries because of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin stated that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov also stated that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, «including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel … on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.»
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