Australia has decided to allocate $20 million to strengthen Ukraine's energy system instead of the coal previously requested by Kyiv, citing ABC.
The funds will be transferred to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which is managed jointly by Ukraine and the European Commission.
Since December last year, Ukraine has made two separate requests for coal from Australia, but the federal government expressed reluctance to fulfill them. This is despite Australia supplying coal to Ukraine at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
However, the government will now allocate an additional $31 million in support—$20 million to the energy fund and $11 million to additional humanitarian aid.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that sending funds, rather than coal directly, is simply cheaper and easier.
"If you ship coal from Australia, you have shipping and insurance costs. In fact this amount of money, should Ukraine wish to spend it for coal, would yield an equivalent amount of coal to what we saw previously. But this enables Ukraine to make its own decisions about where it best applies this funding," said the minister.
The $11 million humanitarian aid will primarily go to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which deals with essentials such as food, water, and shelter.
Some of the funds will also go directly to support people with disabilities through the UN Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Australia’s aid to Ukraine
Australia is one of Ukraine’s biggest and most active supporters in the international community.
At the end of April 2024, Australia announced a $100 million military aid package for Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, $50 million of this amount will be directed towards the purchase of a large batch of RBS 70 NG man-portable air-defense systems. Over $30 million will be invested in drones as part of the "drone coalition," and the remaining funds will be used to meet other military needs.
In addition, Australia will provide Ukraine with air-to-ground munitions.
Thus, the total amount of support provided by Australia to Ukraine, as of the end of April 2024, has exceeded $655 million, of which $540 million is direct military aid.