Ambassador proposes trialling new Bendigo-made army vehicles in Ukraine

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister says he looks forward to hearing a new proposal by the Ukrainian ambassador about military aid for his country.

Ukraine could be a testing ground for the latest Victorian-made military vehicles in a “win-win” proposal the Eastern European nation’s ambassador intends to put to the Federal Government.

Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in an interview on Monday, said Australia could help Ukraine recover from its war with Russia in several ways, including by rebuilding schools, hospitals, utilities, and infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and airports.

The government, he said, could also accept more refugees from the besieged country.

“I think many people want to support Ukraine: local communities want to support Ukraine, corporates, private individuals,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.

“Everybody wants to donate, which is good; I’m very blessed to be in Australia, which is very supportive of Ukraine.

Ukraine Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko in May 2022.

“The problem is we just need more of that support coming because the brutality of this war is big.

“So many people get killed and the destruction is enormous – therefore we’ll need the whole world to help us rebuild.”

But on the immediate military front, Mr Myroshnychenko has what he considers a mutually-beneficial idea.

Mr Myroshnychenko visited Bendigo in July and was hosted by military contractor Thales, which finished building 1100 new, lightweight Hawkei vehicles for the Australian Army in August.

The vehicles are faster and more technologically-advanced than the army’s Bushmaster fleet. Each Hawkei weighs 10 tonnes and can carry two to four people and three tonnes of equipment.

The four-wheel drives boast detachable armour, the option of mounted weapons, and can be carried by helicopters.

The Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light is designed and manufactured in Bendigo. Photo: Thales

The Federal Government has committed to providing 60 Bushmasters to Ukraine, about 40 of which have already been sent.

But Mr Myroshnychenko proposed shipping a battalion’s worth of the new Hawkeis into the Eastern European conflict — a proposal he described as beneficial to both the sending and the receiving countries.

“Bushmasters and Hawkeis are two different vehicles, as you know,” he said.

“Hawkei is much smaller, more nimble, faster.

“It transports fewer people, but it’s used for reconnaissance missions, it could have a mounted system on top, it could be used for the transport of senior officers and whatnot.

“It would be great to send 30 of those to Ukraine to see how they perform in a real war environment, which cannot be replicated in any exercises, and then provide that valuable feedback to the Australian Government, the Australian Defence Force, and of course to Thales to make their vehicles much better.

“It’s a win-win. They’re going to help us, we’re going to help you, and you’ll have the best armoured vehicles in the world.”

Hawkeis under construction. Photo: Thales

The ambassador said he would raise the proposal with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles at their next meeting.

“We’ve got many people killed in Ukraine every day, and we need vehicles, we need ammunition, we need more drones, we need other military equipment because this war is ongoing,” he said.

“The faster this war is over, the better off everybody is.

“This war will be over when we liberate Ukraine and repel all the Russians from Ukraine – we’ll be able to restore peace.”

A spokesman for Mr Marles said he looked forward to meeting Mr Myroshnychenko and hearing his proposal.

“At present, Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to the support of Ukraine,” he said.

“Australia has provided $388m in military assistance and $65m in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

“Whilst Ukraine is a long way from Australia, we are committed to protecting the rules based order.

“At the moment the Australian Government is committed to delivering on its current contribution to Ukraine, including 60 bushmasters and 28 M113AS4s Armoured Vehicles.”