Allies will transfer ammunition, drones and missiles for air defense. Results of “Ramstein”

The 20th meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine ended at the US Air Force base "Ramstein" in the German city of Ramstein-Miesenbach. Its main topics were ammunition for Ukraine, air defense and drones.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

A large number of countries announced aid packages, which include ammunition of various calibers — 152, 155 and 105 mm and others. The Ukrainian Defense Forces need them the most.

Air defense was also discussed at the meeting. The partners assured the future provision of more missiles for the air defense systems of Ukraine. In addition, measures to train F-16 fighters are going exactly according to plan.

Drones also became an important issue at the meeting. Several new countries have joined and contributed to the Drone Coalition. The first results of this coalition are concrete drones expected in Ukraine at the end of March. The Coalition is also working on an opportunity to invest in Ukrainian drone manufacturers.

Considerable attention was paid at the meeting to the work of eight coalitions of capabilities — the Air Force Coalition, the Coalition of Integrated Air Defense and Missile Defense, the Artillery Coalition, the Coalition of Armored Vehicles and Maneuverability, the Coalition of Maritime Capabilities, the IT Coalition, the Coalition of Mine Action and the Coalition of Drones.

The head of the US Department of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said that during almost two years of activity, the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine of the Rammstein format collected almost $88 billion for military aid to Ukraine.

Results of the 20th "Ramstein"

Belgium is preparing a €412 million military aid package for Ukraine. It will include 300 Lynx LMV armored vehicles manufactured by IVECO and three minesweepers of the Alkmaar class.

Germany announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth €500 million. It will include 10,000 rounds of artillery ammunition from the Bundeswehr stockpile, 100 units of armored vehicles and 100 units of transport.

In fact, this package contains 180,000 artillery shells, which are part of the Czech initiative to purchase 800,000 ammunition for Ukraine. Deliveries are planned to start already this summer, that is, in about 2-3 months.

Finland will allocate €30 million to the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine. Canada will also join the initiative — allocating $29 million for ammunition, as well as handing over a large batch of night vision devices for $5.5 million.

Luxembourgwill join the Artillery Coalition led by France and Germany. The country will also purchase drones for Ukraine in cooperation with Belgium and the Netherlands and will continue to provide the Armed Forces with the necessary equipment.

• The "Ramstein" format was launched in the spring of 2022 — on April 26, the first meeting of the advisory group on providing assistance to Ukraine took place at the US Air Force Base Ramstein in Germany. Oleksiy Reznikov, then Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stated after this meeting that there had been "tectonic changes" in the philosophy of the partners regarding the provision of weapons to Ukraine. It was decided to hold meetings of the advisory group every month.