Ukraine's Defense Minister and Pentagon chief hold talks on next Ramstein meeting
Photo: Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin (facebook.com/rustemumerov.ua)
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a phone conversation with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin. The two discussed preparations for the next meeting of the contact group on Ukraine’s aid within the Ramstein format, reports Ukraine's Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov.
The Ukrainian minister emphasized that this topic received special attention during his conversation with the Pentagon chief.
"Ukraine and its partners continue working on solutions to further strengthen our defense capabilities and bring victory closer," Umerov said.
According to the Ukrainian defense minister, during the weekly important conversation with Austin, they discussed the current situation on the battlefield, as well as the "key challenges and the priority needs of Ukraine’s Defense Forces."
"The focus was also on strategic planning for 2025, particularly regarding the supply of weapons, equipment, and equipping of our units," Umerov informed.
Ramstein meetings
At the end of October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a new meeting in the Ramstein format, named after the airbase in Germany, where the first meeting was held on April 26, 2022. The president stated that the meeting is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
The previous Ramstein meeting had been postponed due to a hurricane in the United States. It was initially scheduled for October 12, when US President Joe Biden was the first to postpone his visit to Germany, where he was set to lead the Ramstein meeting.
The White House later confirmed that the Ramstein meeting would take place in November.
