Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to Personally Attend Ramstein Meeting in Germany

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to personally ask Western partners for further arms supplies to fight Russia at the Ramstein meeting in Germany.

This was reported by Spiegel.

Zelenskyy is expected to take part in the Ramstein meeting at the US air base of the same name in Germany next Friday.

Berlin said that by attending the meeting of defence ministers of states that support Ukraine, Zelenskyy wants to clearly outline the seriousness of the situation.

In addition, the Ukrainian head of state wants to ask for new weapons supplies for his army, especially long-range missiles and more air defence equipment.

The visit to the US Air Force base in Ramstein, which is expected to be attended by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, is unusual. Since the beginning of the war, the ministers have been meeting regularly in the Ramstein format, where they and the military discuss joint efforts to provide Ukraine with as much military equipment as possible.

So far, the atmosphere of these meetings has been more of a working one, but Zelenskyy's visit is likely to add a political edge to the event.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has been on a tour of Kyiv's most important allies for several days now. Tonight, he will meet with Pistorius in Berlin, where the main issue is likely to be whether Germany will be able to provide additional arms packages in the coming months despite the tight budget situation.

Umerov has previously travelled to Washington for talks.

The Biden administration, however, stressed during the visit that it wants to push for further expansion of the country's air defence at the next meeting of the contact group in Ramstein. The United States and its partners will continue to provide Kyiv with critical equipment needed to defend itself against Russian aggression, said Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. He condemned recent Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.

The 24th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, known as the Ramstein format, will take place on 6 September at the eponymous US Air Force base in Germany.

This is the first meeting in the Ramstein format since 13 June. They discussed ways to strengthen Ukraine's air defence.

The Ukraine Defence Contact Group brings together defence ministers and chiefs of defence from more than 50 countries. They coordinate steps to provide Ukraine with the means necessary to defend its sovereign territory.