U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is set to participate in his final meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany next week, as announced by the Defense Department on Friday.
This coalition, comprising over 50 nations and commonly referred to as the Ramstein group, includes NATO members and a majority of the European Union. It was established by Austin in April 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two months prior, with the aim of coordinating military assistance for Ukraine’s defense efforts.
The meeting, which was initially planned for October, was delayed due to U.S. President Joe Biden’s cancellation of his trip to manage the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, as reported by Politico. The last comprehensive meeting of the group took place in September.
This upcoming meeting will occur just over a week before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. The future of the Ramstein group and the extent of U.S. support for Ukraine remain uncertain, as Trump has voiced criticism regarding the current level of U.S. aid and has shown interest in swiftly concluding the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked on Thursday that Trump could play a significant role in the resolution of the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” Zelenskyy stated in an interview with Ukrainian television.
“His qualities are indeed there,” Zelenskyy added regarding Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin.”
Trump has previously claimed he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine within a day, yet he has not provided specifics on how he would achieve this.
In related news, Agence France-Presse reported, referencing local officials, that a Russian drone strike in the outskirts of Kyiv early Friday resulted in one fatality and four injuries.
According to AFP, Russian military forces have intensified their aerial assaults across Ukraine during the initial weeks of winter, including a drone strike on New Year’s Day in central Kyiv that resulted in two deaths.
In a statement shared on Facebook and other social media platforms, acting Kyiv regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk announced that a truck driver was killed by debris from a Russian drone that had been intercepted.
Additionally, on Friday, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces indicated that Russian troops were making advances in Donetsk Oblast, particularly near the strategic town of Pokrovsk. The General Staff reported 138 confrontations on the battlefield between Thursday and Friday.
Discover more from Defence Talks | Defense News Hub, Military Updates, Security Insights
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
