Australia and Ukraine Sign 10-Year Security Pact

Australia and Ukraine signed a 10-year security agreement in New York on September 23, establishing a framework for sustained cooperation, as Canberra announced A$60 million in additional assistance and another round of sanctions on Russia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the pact on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The agreement covers defence and security cooperation and provides for work in areas including intelligence, cybersecurity, energy, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. It also links security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, according to the agreement’s description in the reporting. The new assistance comprises A$45 million in Australian Defence Force equipment, A$10 million for Ukraine’s Energy Support Fund and A$5 million in humanitarian aid. The package brings Australia’s total contribution since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 to about A$1.9 billion, according to the reports. Australia also announced further Russia-related sanctions. Reports described the resulting total as close to 1,900 measures, though they did not reconcile differences in how the total was counted.