Ukrainians are dismayed that retired Defence Force cargo trucks, troop carriers and inflatable boats are on sale online when they could be sent to the front.
Decommissioned Australian military equipment keenly sought by Ukraine to help its fight against invading Russian forces is being sold for recreational use on eBay-style auction websites, angering the Ukrainian diaspora and sparking calls for an overhaul of Defence Force disposal policies.
In recent months, the firm’s Facebook page has invited “off-road enthusiasts” to bid on decommissioned army long-range patrol vehicles, troop carriers and Land Rovers, saying “there’s a vehicle to suit every adventure”.One of the long-range patrol vehicles – used by Special Air Services soldiers in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars – reportedly sold for $113,000 last year.
“Ukrainian soldiers are outnumbered, exhausted and working with whatever they are given, so it’s upsetting this equipment hasn’t been considered for Ukraine ... The government says its policy goal is to empower Ukraine to win on its own terms, but Defence has simply carried on with business as usual by auctioning equipment off to the highest bidder.”
A report released by the Senate’s foreign affairs and defence committee this week called for the government to adopt “a default position that Defence materiel being retired or otherwise disposed of will be gifted to Ukraine unless there is a compelling case against this for an individual asset”. The committee also called for the Australian embassy in Kyiv to be reopened and the appointment of a co-ordinator-general to oversee Australia’s support to Ukraine across all agencies.
A single DJI drone the Ukrainian-Australian community bought and sent to the front had saved an entire unit by alerting Ukrainian soldiers that they were about to be attacked by a nearby Russian unit, she said.
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