Ukraine's allies are gathering for regular talks in the Ramstein format on June 13. After several online meetings, the participants will arrive in Brussels, where the NATO Defense Ministers are meeting these days.
Read more about Ramstein 23 and expectations from the talks in RBC-Ukraine's article.
Ramstein and the NATO-Ukraine Council
On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the Contact Group for Defense Support to Ukraine will hold its 23rd meeting.
The Allies will hold talks in Brussels as part of an important NATO event. The Ramstein will open the two-day program of meetings of the Alliance's Ministers.
Participants
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Quinton Brown Jr. traveled to Belgium on June 12 to chair the meeting.
Each Ramstein brings together senior military leaders from about 50 countries. The next meeting will be attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The head of the Ukrainian delegation is Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Negotiations schedule
- Contact Group meeting \- June 13 at noon (Kyiv time);
- Speeches by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov - 4:45 p.m.;
- Speeches by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin - 4:35 p.m.;
- Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council \- 5 p.m.;
- Jens Stoltenberg's press conference - 7 p.m.
The format of the NATO-Ukraine Council was established by the decision of the Vilnius Summit in the summer of 2023 as one of the steps towards Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance.
During the meetings of the Council, mutual consultations and decision-making will take place, and this format also serves as a mechanism for crisis consultations between Ukraine and NATO. On June 13, the NATO-Ukraine Council will meet at the level of Defense Ministers.
More air defense systems and new assistance packages
The next meeting of the Contact Group will be devoted to the current crisis in Ukraine due to Russia's full-scale invasion.
According to the Pentagon, the allies will discuss further support from the international community to provide the Ukrainian people with the means necessary to defend their sovereign territory.
A few days before Ramstein, it became known about new support packages and allied plans for further military assistance to the Ukrainian Defense Forces. In particular, it is about the transfer of additional air defense systems capable of shooting down ballistic missiles used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
United States
Ukraine may receive another Patriot air defense system from the United States. Anonymous sources told The New York Times that US President Joe Biden has approved the transfer of the second Patriot system, which is currently deployed in Poland and protects the rotation of US troops, to Ukraine.
According to the agency, the new air defense system could be deployed to the front line within the next few days, depending on the maintenance or modifications it requires.
Italy
Italy has announced its readiness to provide Ukraine with an additional SAMP/T air defense system to protect infrastructure and buildings. The Italian government will also allocate a new package of 140 million euros for infrastructure, railways, healthcare, agri-food, humanitarian and demining activities.
Estonia
Estonia has announced a new support package, which will include launchers for the Mistral short-range air defense system and missiles. This type of French-made air defense system is designed to engage helicopters and airplanes within a radius of 6 kilometers. The exact number of Mistral missiles for Ukraine has not been disclosed.
Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on the allies to increase the capabilities of Ukraine's air defense system and announced the transfer of an important package of weapons soon.
"The most common need of the Ukrainian army now is ammunition, weapons, especially air defense systems. Therefore, in the coming weeks and months, we will supply Ukraine with the third Patriot air defense system, IRIS-T and Gepard systems, missiles and ammunition," Scholz says.
At the same time, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Germany, together with its allies from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, would provide Ukraine with 100 missiles for the Patriot air defense system. More than 30 interceptor missiles have already been delivered, and Ukraine will receive the next batch in the coming weeks.
The Netherlands
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced the arrival of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this summer, after which the delivery of combat aircraft will be on stream. The first F-16s will arrive from Denmark, followed by the Netherlands.
In addition, at the end of May, the Netherlands launched an initiative to supply Ukraine with the Patriot air defense system and called on other European countries to contribute to the joint delivery of at least one complete system in the short term.
Kajsa Ollongren also announced the allocation of 60 million euros for UAV capacity building in Ukraine. One-third of the funds will be used to purchase FPV drones through a drone coalition, the rest of the money will be used to purchase maritime drones and develop their production in Ukraine, as well as for bilateral supplies of various types of drones.
Ramstein talks importance
Meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have been held almost monthly since April 2022 at the initiative of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The results of the negotiations helped to strengthen the Ukrainian Armed Forces' ability to repel Russian troops and to begin Ukraine's transition to NATO weapons. The allies have formed important coalitions to supply Ukraine with tanks, air defense systems, F-16 fighters, drones, demining, and more.
The last Ramstein meeting was devoted to strengthening air defense, supplying shells, and announcing the transfer of a new batch of Leopard tanks from Spain. The situation in the Kharkiv sector was also discussed. You can read more about the results of the previous meeting in a RBC-Ukraine report.
Sources: NATO, Pentagon, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ministries of Defense of the Netherlands and Estonia, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, The New York Times, and Army Inform.
