Anthony Albanese announces new $110 million assistance for Ukraine to end 'Putin's aggression'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday the new aid package, which includes 70 military vehicles, artillery ammunition and $10 million in humanitarian aid.

Duty-free access for goods imported from Ukraine will also be extended for a further year to support the country's recovery and trade opportunities.

The extra funding brings Australia's total support to Ukraine to $790 million, including $610 million in military assistance, since Russia first illegally invaded the eastern European country 16 months ago in February 2022.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, however, said the announcement was "too late and too little", calling for the federal government to offer more.

The 70 vehicles being sent into the conflict include 28 M113 armoured vehicles, 14 special operations Vehicles, and 28 MAN 40M medium trucks and 14 trailers.

Missing from the vehicle package are the plagued Hawkei fleet, constructed by Bushmaster makers Thales Australia, of which many of the 1100-strong fleet are undergoing fixes for a braking fault.

Mr Albanese said "the advice is that [providing Hawkei vehicles] would not be the best way to provide assistance to Ukraine".

Defence Minister Richard Marles said he was "very proud" to support the efforts of Ukraine fighters against the Russian invasion.

"We expect this to be a protracted conflict and so we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," Mr Marles said.

He said "in essence" the cost of the operations were being absorbed by Defence.

Mr Dutton urged the Albanese government to offer Ukrainian forces more military equipment, including meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's requests for Hawkei vehicles.

"President Zelenskyy, along with his military advisors, know what is required on the ground to have a fighting chance at defeating Putin and his forces," he said.

"[He] is now asking for Hawkeis and other equipment, and the government hasn't provided it.

"Frankly, they should get on with it and provide that support because if they don't, lives will be lost."

Mr Albanese also welcomed the High Court's decision on Monday to throw out Russia's bid to retain land within Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle for a new embassy.

Parliament passed laws terminating the lease of the diplomatic land earlier this month, citing national security risks.

But on Monday, a High Court judge quashed attempts by Russian officials to grant an injunction against the recent laws.

Asked whether another country could use the land for an embassy, the Prime Minister said it was not the intention.

"We do not intend to have any embassy there, I think it is a pretty good space there, myself at the moment, so it is not intended to give it to or allow for any other embassy to be there either," Mr Albanese said.

"We will consider the purpose of the land but we expect the law to be upheld. Australia supports the law, Russia has not been real good at upholding the law in recent times."

Russia retains an embassy in Canberra's suburb of Griffith.

It comes as the situation in Russia deteriorated rapidly over the weekend when the leader of a powerful mercenary group, Wagner Group, put a target on President Vladimir Putin after claiming his troops were killed in a Russian air strike.

Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced his forces toward the Kremlin in a "march for justice" to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders involved in the war in Ukraine.

In a spectacular backdown just 200 kilometres away from Moscow, the Wagner leader halted the planned coup after a last-minute intervention by Belarus.

Mr Putin said the head of the private militia, and his supporters, had committed "treason" and would face "harsh punishment".

"All those who deliberately stepped on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed insurrection, who took the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, will answer both to the law and to our people," Mr Putin said in a televised address.

Mr Albanese earlier told ABC TV on Monday morning he had received three briefings over the weekend on the "bizarre" series of events, saying it had been a disaster for the Russian leader.

"Quite clearly, you can't have events like that and just wipe them out, pretend that you'll go back to stability," he said.

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"[The war in Ukraine] has been a disaster for Mr Putin. He overplayed his hand and he got it wrong, and some of the consequences of that, I think, we saw playing out on the weekend.

"The best thing that Mr Putin can do is just withdraw from this illegal invasion, retreat back behind his own borders and that would be a good thing for international law if that occurred."

Foreign Minister Penny Wong over the weekend urged Australians in Russia to leave immediately due to the deteriorating security situation.