New Zealand to provide Ukraine with non-lethal military assistance

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern announced this, Ukrinform reports with reference to Reuters.

She said the money would be primarily directed to a NATO Trust Fund that provides fuel, rations, communication equipment and first aid kits to support Ukraine.

"We consider what is happening in Ukraine as a massive disruption to the international rules-based order and because of that it impacts all of us and that's why we have taken these extraordinary measures," Ardern said at a press conference.

The New Zealand Defence Force will provide tactical equipment such as body armour, helmets and vests that are surplus to requirements.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.