24th ‘Ramstein’ Meeting: More Air Defence Systems and Long-Range Weapons for Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the 24th meeting of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine in the Ramstein format in Germany. He thanked the participants for each package of support and stressed that Kyiv needs more weapons to expel Russian troops from the entire occupied territory of Ukraine.
‘Each of you understands how important it is for a soldier to know that the frontline is held not only by a soldier's loyalty to his country and oath, but also by sufficient supply of weapons. That is why it is important that every aid package that is announced gets to the battlefield promptly - without any delays,’ Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He added that a significant part of the number of systems that our state was to receive after the decision made at the NATO summit had not yet been delivered.
‘There are enough air defence systems in the world to ensure that Russian terror has no results. I urge you to be more active in this work with us on air defence,’ Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine has already started operating F-16s that shoot down missiles and drones, but these aircraft are not enough.
Therefore, the President of Ukraine called on his partners to allow the destruction of military targets in Russia with Western long-range weapons.
‘Now we hear that your long-range policy has not changed, but we see changes in ATACMS, Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles - a shortage of missiles and cooperation. And this applies even to our territory that is occupied by Russia, including Crimea. We consider such steps to be wrong. We need to have this long-range potential not only for the occupied territory of Ukraine, but also for Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,’ Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
In the framework of the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defence in the Ramstein format, President Zelenskyy also met with U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius.
