Australia pledges $3M to NATO for Ukraine

By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) - Australia on Monday pledged $3 million to NATO for Ukraine to support military equipment and medical supplies.

"As an immediate measure, Australia will contribute US$3 million to NATO’s Trust Fund for Ukraine to support non-lethal military equipment and medical supplies. Details of Australia’s contribution of lethal military equipment are being worked through with our partners and will be announced soon," according to an official statement.

The government also imposed economic sanctions and a travel ban on top Russian and Belarusian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The joint statement issued by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Defense Minister Peter Dutton and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg held Putin responsible for "egregious unjustified war" against Ukraine.

"From midnight last night, Australian targeted financial sanctions and travel bans came into effect on the Russian President and remaining permanent members of Russia’s Security Council: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev," the statement said.

"It is exceedingly rare to designate a head of state, and reflects the depth of our concerns. President Putin joins a very small group that includes Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Bashar al-Assad of Syria," the statement added.

Australia also sanctioned 13 Belarusian individuals and entities, including Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin over aiding Russia and allowing Moscow to launch attacks from Belarus.

"Australia will continue to work with allies and like-minded countries to impose further economic sanctions on Russia, building on the raft of travel bans and asset freezes implemented in recent days against Russia’s most influential political and military actors," the statement added.

Prime Minister Morrison said he supports the announcements made by the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the US on further restrictive economic measures against key Russian banks, institutions and individuals, including removal of Moscow selected banks from the SWIFT global payments messaging system.

Russia last week attacked Ukraine days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine, a move Western countries responded to by a plethora of sanctions on Moscow and it top leaders.

EU has decided to fund arms supplies to Ukraine, close its airspace to Russian airlines and ban Russian state media.

At least 368,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of the attack, according to the UN Refugee Agency.