Ramstein Results: Enhanced Security in Black Sea, Additional Military Assistance
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has reported on the results achieved at the 17th meeting of the contact group on Ukraine's defence within the Ramstein format. This was reported on the official website of the ministry and by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov on Facebook.
"A powerful meeting in the Ramstein format. More than 50 countries joined the meeting of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine. Support for Ukraine remains unwavering," Umerov commented.
The Minister named the key outcomes of the meeting, "which can be discussed publicly":
- A new Ground-Based Air Defence coalition has been formed. The leaders are Germany and France. The coalition includes 20 countries. Providing Ukrainian cities with additional air defence systems is one of the priorities for this winter.
- The Netherlands has prepared €2 billion in military aid for Ukraine.
- The leader of the IT Coalition, Estonia, is providing half a million dollars in funding for the IT Coalition's activities, in addition to Luxembourg's €10 million commitment.
- The United Kingdom and Norway will look for ways to further enhance security in the Black Sea as part of the Maritime Coalition.
- Germany has announced $1.4 billion in aid, including IRIS-T guided missile systems, 8,000 new anti-tank mines, one Patriot system, and additional 155mm artillery ammunition, all of which should arrive in Ukraine by mid-December.
- Brussels is continuing to work on the Interoperability Roadmap to ensure Ukraine's successful progress towards NATO.
"The biggest and most powerful announcements have been kept under wraps," he added.
As The Gaze previously reported, on 22 November, the 17th meeting of the Ramstein Contact Group on Ukraine's Defence took place in full online mode with the participation of about 50 countries.
The meeting was opened by US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. He noted that both Ukraine and Israel are facing relentless adversaries who seek to destroy them.
"As Ukraine faces another winter of war, I urge this group to provide Ukraine with air defence capabilities to protect its people... As we dedicate our efforts to supporting our partner, we must be creative in how we can continue to meet Ukraine's needs," the Pentagon chief said.