Ramstein meeting to discuss Ukraine’s Defense Strategy until 2027 – Pentagon

The 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on January 9, 2025. The meeting will focus on Ukraine's long-term defense needs, particularly the formation of deterrent forces by 2027.

This is reported on the Pentagon website.

As noted by the US Department of Defense, the Ramstein meeting, which began in April 2022, plays "an important role in coordinating international support to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty from unprovoked Russian aggression."

According to reports, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is set to leave Washington and head to Ramstein Air Base on January 9 for the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), which has been described as a "landmark" event.

It is noted that during the meeting, Austin will communicate with the defense ministers of other coalition states and senior military officials from around the world.

Purpose of the meeting:

• discussion of Ukraine's urgent needs on the battlefield;

"The meeting will focus on the need to ensure the continued provision of key capabilities, including air defense systems, artillery ammunition, and armored vehicles, as well as efforts to strengthen the defense industrial base," the US Department of Defense said.

• coordination, which is carried out through coalitions of forces and assets;
• approval of roadmaps to support Ukraine's key military capabilities: aviation, armored vehicles, mine clearance, air defense, drones, maritime security, etc.

In addition, two senior US Defense Department officials said Austin intends to convene eight coalition capabilities leaders from the Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base to develop a plan to support Ukraine's ability to provide a credible deterrent by 2027.

The US Department of Defense explained that the Ramstein-based group has a coalition leadership group of eight capabilities coalitions. Each coalition represents an aspect of Ukraine's military capabilities and is co-chaired by at least two individual NATO countries.

"The leaders of these coalitions will need to endorse roadmaps that articulate Ukraine's air force, armor, artillery, de-mining, drone, integrated air and missile defense, information technology, and maritime security needs and objectives through 2027. These roadmaps are intended to enable donors to plan for and support Ukraine sustainably into the future," the Pentagon quotes a US defense official.

The US official also noted that although Austin's last meeting as head of the Pentagon will be the 25th meeting of the Contact Group, the US Department of Defense is not "closing" the group; its work will continue.

For reference:

It should be noted that the UDCG is a coalition created to coordinate efforts in providing military assistance to Ukraine. Each coalition is led by at least two NATO member countries. The first meeting of the Contact Group took place on April 26, 2022, at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany, with 40 countries participating.

Currently, the Ramstein Contact Group includes approximately 50 countries that provide military assistance to Ukraine. At the penultimate meeting, Argentina joined Ramstein.

The 24th meeting of Ramstein took place in early September and was joined by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Since its establishment in 2022, the Allies have allocated more than $126 billion to support Ukraine.