Pentagon Chairman Lloyd Austin said 20 countries had agreed to provide new military assistance to Ukraine. Among them are Italy, Denmark, Greece, Norway, and Poland.
In particular, Denmark will provide Ukraine with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and launchers, Austin said.
The Czech Republic will hand over combat helicopters to Ukraine.
Poland, Italy, Norway, and Greece have announced the transfer of artillery systems and ammunition to Ukraine.
Austin said Ukraine was still in dire need of artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, and drones. When asked about the supply of HIMARS artillery systems, Austin said that he "does not want to run ahead of the process" and will not discuss specific names of systems.
The meeting was online. A total of 47 countries took part in the virtual meeting.
The next contact group on defense will meet again on June 15.
- On May 16, EU member states agreed to provide another € 500 million in military aid to Ukraine. But it was not possible to agree on the introduction of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia.
- On May 21, US President Joe Biden signed a law providing $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine, which is struggling with a full-scale Russian invasion.