Australia will pour money into a Western-led effort to help arm Ukrainian soldiers trying to repel the Russian invasion as the conflict further intensifies.
The United States, the United Kingdom and several European nations have already sent large quantities of weapons to Ukraine, and earlier today President Joe Biden approved $350 million worth of US weaponry — including Javelin anti-tank weapons — for Ukrainian fighters.
In a major shift, Germany has also pledged to send both anti-tank weapons and missiles to Ukraine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would make a contribution to the campaign to arm Ukraine, although he did not provide any specifics.
"I've just spoken to the Defence Minister and we'll be seeking to provide whatever support we can for lethal aid through our NATO partners, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom," he said.
"We'll be working through those channels because that's the most effective way to do it."
The ABC understands Australia will not directly ship any weapons to Ukraine, but will instead make a financial contributions to NATO to bolster weapons shipments.
The government has not said how large that contribution will be.
Australia had already committed to send non-lethal aid in the form of military equipment and medical supplies, but had ruled out sending troops.
The government has also offered cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian cyber attacks.
Mr Morrison said Australia would work in "lock step" with the US and UK, and took the opportunity to criticise China for not unifying with other nations and imposing harsher sanctions on Russia.
The Prime Minister accused China of undermining Western sanctions on Russia last week, pointing to revelations restrictions on Russian wheat and barley would be eased as part of a new trade deal between Moscow and Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to boost trade ties in early February when they struck a broader compact aimed explicitly at undermining America's network of global alliances.
Putin joins sanctioned list
The Prime Minister confirmed what Foreign Minister Marise Payne flagged yesterday — that the government was looking to personally sanction Mr Putin.
"I confirm that we are taking action against President Putin and his Foreign Minister and we will continue to add names to these lists," he said.
Mr Morrison said the government was still considering whether to expel Russia's ambassador to Australia.
He said Australia was committed to helping Ukrainians flee the country if they wanted to come to Australia.
"The other issue which is very pressing is the issue of humanitarian support," he said.
The Prime Minister again said visa applications from people in Ukraine would be given the highest priority, and the "rapid processing" of visas that had already been applied for was now complete.
But he would not confirm how many humanitarian visas would be offered to those fleeing the country.
Instead, he encouraged people to apply for other visas offered by Australia.
Greens call for boycott of Russian oil and gas
While the government has flagged more sanctions on Russia, the Greens have called on Australia to halt all imports of crude oil from the country as well.
Australia only imports a tiny fraction of its crude oil from Russia, but Greens leader Adam Bandt said the move could set an "important precedent".
"Russia is a petro-state and Putin's power comes from oil and gas," he said.
"Australia should stop buying Russian oil and hit Putin where it hurts.
"We need to get serious about sanctions.
While Australia's Russian oil imports are small, a boycott of Russian oil and gas could start the ball rolling for the rest of the world."
