Canberra, July 4 (UNI) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during his visit to Ukraine pledged more military aid to the war torn country, BBC reported on Monday.
Albanese met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv during a surprise trip to the war torn capital.
He earlier toured the towns of Bucha and Irpin, and described the situation over there as “war crime”.
The Australian aid package, worth 100m Australian dollars ($68m; ?56m), includes drones and 34 additional armoured vehicles.
In a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Albanese said Australia will support Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.
The extra aid announced brings total Australian assistance to Ukraine to about $390 million.
Albanese also announced sanctions and travel bans on 16 more Russian ministers and oligarchs and an end to imports of Russian gold.
The prime minister lit a candle for civilians buried in a mass grave in Bucha, where Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities.
Australia is also considering reopening its embassy in the country, following the lead of other nations such as the UK and US.
Albanese joins a long list of world leaders who have visited Ukraine since the war began.
The unannounced visit came after a week-long trip to Europe, where Albanese attended a NATO summit in Madrid and met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
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