US to Announce `Significant` Military Aid Package for Ukraine at Ramstein Meeting
The Biden administration plans to announce the latest large-scale military aid package for Ukraine during US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin's visit to Germany and his participation in the Ramstein meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, scheduled for 9 January, reports AP, citing two US officials.
‘Administration officials did not give an exact dollar amount, but noted that the package would be ‘significant,’ although it would not include all of the approximately $4 billion remaining in funding previously approved by Congress for Ukraine,’ the report said.
The officials said this during a briefing for journalists travelling with the Pentagon chief to Germany. They noted that there are likely to be ‘more than a couple of billion dollars’ left over that the new US administration led by Donald Trump could provide to Ukraine.
The meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defence is scheduled for 9 January and will be held at Ramstein Air Force Base in the US under the chairmanship of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. The meeting will focus on ensuring that practical and coordinated steps are taken to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities now and in the future.
Currently, Ukraine is in the midst of launching a second offensive in Russia's Kursk region and has made important progress, but faces a barrage of long-range missiles and continued Russian resistance as both sides seek to put themselves in the strongest possible negotiating position before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on 20 January.
As previously reported by The Gaze, on 30 December, the US announced a defence aid package to Ukraine worth almost $2.5 billion. It included the transfer of $1.25bn worth of weapons and equipment from Pentagon stockpiles to Ukraine, as well as the placement of $1.22bn worth of new weapons orders under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).