The Minderoo Foundation has donated 5 million Australian dollars ($3.15 million) to support Ukrainian communities affected by Russia’s ongoing war, reports the foundation in a statement released.
The donation builds upon 20 million Australian dollars ($12.6 million) previously provided by the Australia-based charity for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
“The invasion of one country by another is wholly offensive to civilisation. Ukraine has every right to protect its borders, and the international community will be extremely shortsighted if it does not stand with Ukraine,” said Andrew Forrest, founder of the Minderoo Foundation and the Fortescue mining group.
The latest assistance package targets eastern Ukrainian regions including Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv. It focuses on communities impacted by Russia’s use of cluster munitions in Mykolaiv in 2022 and a missile strike against an apartment building in Dnipro in January 2023.
Funds will support demining agricultural areas, households affected by the war, and peace-building activities with civil society organizations.
Nicola Forrest, co-founder of the foundation, said that “a quarter of Ukraine’s most productive agricultural land remained contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordinance, representing a US$11bn annual GDP impact on the Ukrainian economy.”
As of 2025, Ukraine is considered one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. The Ukrainian Government estimates that approximately 138,000 square kilometers of its territory have been affected by hostilities and are likely contaminated with mines and explosive debris.
Andrew Forrest expressed support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that he is the democratically elected leader of his people and a man of great character and resilience.”
The statement comes amid US President Donald Trump’s diplomatic outreach to Russia in an effort to broker a peace deal. Trump recently called Zelensky a “dictator without elections.”
Russia’s full-scale war has entered its fourth year, creating a humanitarian crisis with millions displaced and extensive damage to housing and infrastructure in front-line regions.
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