INTERNATIONAL: The first Bushmaster armoured vehicles bound for Ukraine will depart Australia on Friday 8th April, the Australian government said, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy requested their use last week.

Twenty Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles will be sent to Ukraine to aid in their conflict with Russia, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said.

Three bushmasters, including a modified ambulance, were loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster military plane at the Royal Australian Air Force Base at Amberley in Ipswich on Friday, each with a small Ukrainian flag painted on the exterior of the vehicle.

In his address to the Australian parliament last Thursday (March 31), Zelenskiy specifically asked for the Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles to help in his country’s fight against Russia.

Dutton and Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said the Bushmaster vehicle would be helpful for the transport of military personnel through areas with landmines.

Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine is currently around $AUD 191.5 million, the government said.

It has also distributed humanitarian supplies to Ukraine, sanctioned close to 600 individuals and entities, and imposed a ban on exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia.

“But it’s primarily used for the transport of personnel, and it’s protected against the landmines, which are out there and of course there is one which is equipped as an ambulance, will be able to transport those who are wounded from the battlefield. The Russian military has mined big parts of Ukraine as they have withdrawn from the northern part of Kyiv. This whole area is now very dangerous.”

Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko,

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton, said:

“We want the Russians out of the Ukraine as quickly as possible. We want to protect and defend women and children of the Ukraine. We want the war crimes to stop and the equipment that we’ve been able to provide over a number of weeks now has met the requests of the Ukrainian government.”