25th Ramstein Meeting: $2 Billion Support for Ukraine, Enhanced Air Defence, and NATO Purchases Ukrainian Weaponry
During the 25th meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defence in the Ramstein format, agreements were reached on additional support packages worth $2 billion.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists in Italy, commenting on the results of the meeting on 9 January.
‘I would like to thank all partners, all defence ministers - 50 countries plus. We had a very good meeting today and a very good result. Additional packages worth $2 billion to support Ukraine, plus, very importantly, eight coalitions of capabilities. This is already on paper. 34 countries already support these strategic coalitions,’ the President said.
Among the important outcomes of Ramstein, Zelenskyy called guaranteed deliveries of additional air defence systems.
‘We have confirmation, we have support. Not all 19 systems, to be honest, but there is a fairly serious number of systems guaranteed by our partners. We will work to ensure that the systems arrive as soon as possible,’ the President of Ukraine said.
He also said that the issue of whether the Ramstein format would be extended was not raised during the meeting, ‘because everyone understands that the next meeting is in February’.
‘Everyone has already agreed on this. This platform, which brings together so many countries, is important to us. It is important that it continues its work,’ Zelenskyy said.
He also said that the UK was positive about possible participation in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
‘The peacekeeping initiative can become part of security guarantees for Ukraine. Of course, some countries will not be able to do it with just one contingent. This, I believe, is not enough, but the fact that it can be a serious component of future security guarantees for Ukraine is yes. This initiative was launched by Emmanuel Macron. The British are positive, but I will talk about this in detail with the Prime Minister (of the United Kingdom - ed.) at our meeting. He will have a visit to Ukraine,’ Zelenskyy said.