Date set for next Ramstein meeting revealed
Photo: US and Ukrainian Defense Ministers Lloyd Austin and Rustem Umerov (getty images)
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discussed preparations for the upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, scheduled for September, with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
According to Umerov, he briefed Austin on the current situation at the frontlines.
"Based on the operational situation, we discussed our urgent military needs and plans for the near future," the Defense Minister stated.
Preparations for the next Ramstein meeting were one of the key topics of the conversation.
As a reminder, Austin's conversation with Umerov was announced yesterday by Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. She noted that the discussion would also address the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive operation in Russia's Kursk region.
The Pentagon spokesperson said that the US is unaware of Kyiv's exact objectives in the Kursk operation but recalled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement regarding the need to create a buffer zone. Singh mentioned that creating such a zone would involve the construction of several defense lines, and the Pentagon reportedly has questions about how the Kursk operation aligns with Ukraine's strategic objectives on the battlefield.
Yesterday, Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, openly acknowledged on Telegram that Ukraine had attacked a Russian platoon strongpoint in the Kursk region using precise American GBU-39 bombs.
Singh stated that US policy "does allow for Ukraine to conduct counter fires to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region, and that border region does include Kursk, it does include Sumy." does allow for Ukraine to conduct counterfire to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region, and that border region does include Kursk, it does include Sumy
