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ABC News: Ukraine Latest: Satellite images show mass grave in Bucha, Kyiv is reclaimed as fighting and peace talks continue:

Australian Bushmaster armoured vehicles painted and ready to fly to Ukraine within days

Posted 13h ago, updated 13h ago

Four ADF Bushmaster vehicles have been hastily repainted and modified so they can be flown to Europe within days of a direct public request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

During Thursday’s historic address to parliament the Ukrainian leader caught Defence by surprise when he nominated the troop carriers as a practical example of what Australia could provide his nation as it fights a Russian invasion.

Immediately following President Zelenskyy’s historic address the Defence department scrambled to work out how best to get the Bendigo-built armoured vehicles to the war-torn nation in Eastern Europe quickly.

Now the ABC can reveal the first four troop carriers were repainted and refitted in Brisbane over the weekend ahead of their delivery to RAAF Base Amberley, where they are expected to be loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster before being flown to Europe.

A RAAF Globemaster can carry up to four Bushmasters on board at any one time, but it is understood the ADF is also examining whether some of the vehicles used by the Dutch military could be given to the Ukrainians as well.

During the Afghanistan war the Bushmaster was credited for saving the lives of Australian soldiers, with the Dutch government buying more than 100 of them.

The UK Defence Force is believed to operate around 20 of the vehicles. 

Last week Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared Australia would meet President Zelenskyy’s request, by “not just sending our prayers … we’re going to be sending our armoured vehicles, our bushmasters as well, and we’ll be flying them over on our C-17s”.

Appearing before a Senate estimates hearing on Friday, the Defence Department’s head of Land Systems, Major-General Andrew Bottrell, indicated that the ADF was preparing to send more than four Bushmasters to Ukraine’s military.

“[We’ve] been working through options on what we’ve got available, where they are, providing some of that advice to government, they’re still considering those options,” he said.

“I’d suggest that it’s moved on from just four, so those options are still being considered by the [Defence] Minister and government.”

A Defence figure, speaking to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said the initial four Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles to be flown out of RAAF Base Amberley had been painted “olive green”.

The vehicles had been painted white before the refit and it is understood a Ukrainain flag had been painted on the door at the rear of the vehicle.

The Defence Department has been approached for comment but has not yet responded to a series of detailed questions from the ABC, including on what modifications have been made to the Bushmasters. 

The Bushmaster is built in the regional Victorian city of Bendigo by French-owned defence company Thales which is currently providing assembling dozens of the vehicles for the New Zealand military.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne will fly to Brussels on Tuesday to join a meeting of NATO foreign ministers trying to coordinate an international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Several countries from outside NATO – including South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Finland and Sweden – have been invited to attend the meeting.

In a statement she said Australia wanted to “strengthen international solidarity in responding to Russia’s illegal and unjust actions”.

Fighting in Ukraine continued over the weekend, with Ukraine saying its forces have retaken all areas around the capital Kyiv, claiming control of the region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion on February 24. 

Fresh allegations of war crimes have been made against Russian troops, as bodies of civilians were found lying in the streets in the nearby town of Bucha.

Explosions have continued to be heard in the port cities of Mariupol and Odesa, as peace talks continue.

Here’s the latest from what happened overnight.

Russian forces accused of ‘massacre’ in Bucha

Ukraine has accused Russian forces of carrying out a “massacre” in the town of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv.

Ukraine authorities found 410 bodies in towns near Kyiv as part of an investigation into possible war crimes by Russia, the country’s top prosecutor said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described images of dead bodies as “a punch in the gut”.

A satellite image from Bucha showed a trench around 14 metres in length dug into the grounds of a church where a mass grave had been identified, US company Maxar Technologies said.

The image, captured on March 31, followed previous imagery from March 10 that showed signs of excavation on the grounds of the Church of St Andrew Pyervozvannoho All Saints.

Russia’s defence ministry denied allegations its forces were responsible for the deaths of civilians, and said Ukraine had staged a performance for the Western media.

Moscow requested the United Nations Security Council convene to discuss what Russia called a “provocation by Ukrainian radicals” in Bucha.

Fighting continues in besieged Mariupol

Heavy fighting has continued in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, as Russian forces attempt to take the city.

“The city continues to be subject to intense, indiscriminate strikes but Ukrainian Forces maintain a staunch resistance, retaining control in central areas,” the UK Ministry of Defence said.

Ukraine evacuated 2,694 people from conflict zones in Mariupol and the region of Luhansk on Sunday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Ukrainian officials were in talks with Russia to allow several Red Cross buses to enter Mariupol, she added.

The Red Cross abandoned earlier attempts due to security concerns. Russia blamed the charity for the delays.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been trapped in Mariupol for weeks, with limited access to food and water.

Explosions heard in other cities

A series of explosions were heard in Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa in the late hours of Sunday, local time, but no official information has been released.

Earlier, local officials said Russian attacks had struck “critical infrastructure” near Odesa, most likely oil facilities.

Explosions were also heard in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and the western city of Ternopil, local media reported.

Peace talks continue

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were set to continue via videoconference on Monday, local time, Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said.

Russia said on Sunday that talks had not progressed enough for a leaders’ meeting.

Moscow said its positions on the status of Crimea (which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014) and two Russian-backed rebel regions in the eastern Donbas (which President Vladimir Putin recognised as independent in February) remained unchanged.

The two sides have held periodic talks since Russia launched its invasion, but there has been no breakthrough and they remain far apart on the question of territory.

Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks.

Ukraine and its allies said Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses.

ABC / Wires/

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