New Zealand has committed 16 million New Zealand dollars (approximately $9.5 million) in new aid to Ukraine, combining military and humanitarian support as the country’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon prepares to attend a NATO Summit in The Hague. The package is split between battlefield assistance and relief for war-affected civilians, and builds on New Zealand’s ongoing backing of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.

This latest assistance brings New Zealand’s total aid to Ukraine to more than NZD 168 million (approx. $100 million) since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. That support includes up to 100 New Zealand Defense Force personnel deployed to train Ukrainian troops.

Breakdown of funding: Military and humanitarian support

As reported by 1News and RNZ, the NZD 16 million package includes two contributions of NZD 4 million each to multinational military aid initiatives: the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine fund and the UK and Latvia-led Drone Coalition. These funds are intended to provide both lethal and non-lethal equipment and support.

An additional NZD 7 million (around $4.1 million) will fund humanitarian relief for communities inside Ukraine, while NZD 1 million ($600,000) is allocated to help Ukrainians displaced in neighboring countries.

No invitation—not even a mention: Ukraine to be left out of NATO’s summit statement

Political context and timing

The announcement came just before Luxon’s scheduled participation in the NATO Summit in The Hague. Speaking to media in Brussels, he emphasized New Zealand’s principled stance.

“Its war of self-defense is well into its fourth year and our condemnation of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion remains undiminished,” he said, as quoted by 1News.

Luxon told reporters,

“There’ll be a lot of conversation, obviously, about the Middle East, but there’ll also be a lot of conversation about Ukraine as well. We may be a long way from these conflicts, but it’s important, if you’ve got values, that you stand up for them, you articulate them, and, where you can, put support to them.”

Zelenskyy: Russia using prisoner exchanges to delay sanctions, weaken US-Ukraine ties

Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand would continue collaborating internationally “to uphold a rules-based order that serves all our interests.”

The aid also follows recently announced sanctions on Russian maritime logistics and supply actors, including what RNZ describes as Russia’s “shadow fleet”—a network of vessels and operations circumventing global restrictions.