President Zelenskyy gives subtle nod to Australia with kangaroo on sleeve PHOTO

Anthony Albanese met with Volodymyr Zelenskyyy for the first time, with a photo emerging of the Ukrainian President sporting a sleeve patch on his iconic green polo in a nod of respect to Australia.

The image captures the two leaders smiling arm in arm with Mr Zelenskyy's showing off the insignia featuring a kangaroo next to his nation's blue and yellow flag and the message: "United with Ukraine," Daily Mail reports. 

Australia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's bloody invasion began in February, providing millions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid.

The Australian Prime Minister was completing a week-long stay in Europe last week where he was attending a NATO Summit in Madrid, before he made the stopover in the war-torn Eastern European country.

Mr Albanese pledged further support for Ukraine during the trip as well as tighter sanctions on Russia.

Australia will provide 34 additional armoured vehicles to Ukraine as part of a $100 million military aid package and prohibit Russian gold imports.

The vehicles will include 14 armoured personnel carriers and 20 Bushmasters.

Speaking in Kyiv alongside President Zelenskiy, Mr Albanese said Australia would also impose sanctions and travel bans on 16 more Russian ministers and oligarchs.

This brings the total number of Russian individuals sanctioned by Australia to 843.

Australia will also help bolster Ukraine's border guard service with management equipment to enhance field operations.

"Australia stands ready to continue to support the government and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to emerge victorious in defence of your national sovereignty and your homeland," Mr Albanese told the Ukraine president.

"Because you are fighting for the international rule of law, you are fighting for international rules in which we conduct our activity to be respected and to occur in an orderly way."

Mr Zelenskyy said he was grateful to Australia for its assistance.

"We must strengthen international co-operation in order to break Russia's aggressive potential,' Mr Zelenskiy said.

"We must increase the sanctions pressure on the aggressor."

"More than 2000 settlements in the east and south of Ukraine have yet to be liberated. I offered Australia to take part in the post-war reconstruction and I am grateful for the willingness to join the implementation of this, I am sure, ambitious project."

In April the first Australian M777 howitzers arrived in Ukraine, featuring the United with Ukraine kangaroo branding, the same symbol which the Ukrainian president wore in his meeting with Mr Albanese.

Last month Ukrainian soldiers sung the praises of Australian aid, in particular, the Bushmasters and pled for more Australian machinery to be sent.

The Bushmaster, nicknamed 'The Bushy', is an 11-tonne armoured military vehicle designed to deploy up to 10 soldiers to the battlefield.

The 20 vehicles originally sent to Ukraine were refitted for duty after being 'retired' after serving Afghanistan and emergency relief zones.

They were repainted olive green with Ukraine's flag stencilled on each side and the words "United with Ukraine" in both English and Ukrainian along with a kangaroo bounding next to a Ukrainian flag.