Defense Minister Umerov meets with Pentagon Chief Austin to plan for upcoming Ramstein meeting

As Umerov explained, on January 9, coalition leaders will approve "roadmaps" for each of the eight areas of cooperation. They should record strategic goals and key needs for military assistance until at least the end of 2027.

"These documents, developed and agreed upon jointly by Ukraine and partners, will become the basis for support and allocation of assistance in areas such as air defense, artillery, armored vehicles, drones, air force, maritime security, and other important areas. There is a lot of work ahead," Umerov noted.

It should be noted that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the Ramstein format meeting today, January 9.

According to him, Ukraine's Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov is already in Germany and has begun holding the first meetings.

Zelensky stressed that Ukraine's key issues are strengthening its air defense and repelling Russian military aviation from Ukrainian cities and borders.

Also, as Zelensky specified, partners will discuss how defense coalitions will work in 2025 at Ramstein.

"Europe has only one choice – and it is a historic choice – to become stronger, to become more independent, to rely more on itself. We must be adults in this world and be ready to make our European contribution to global security. This will be the right thing for everyone in Europe," the president said.

The media reported that US President Joe Biden's team plans to announce a $500 million military aid package to Ukraine on January 9, the last day before the country changes administration.

At the same time, about $3.8 billion allocated to support Kyiv will remain unused. The Pentagon noted that the new administration of Donald Trump will be able to use them to support Ukraine if it decides to do so.

For reference:

It should be noted that the UDCG is a coalition created to coordinate efforts to provide military assistance to Ukraine. At least two NATO member countries lead each coalition. 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.