Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin invited members of the Ukraine Contact Group to the conference at the largest US air base outside the United States.
In addition to the USA, it also includes Germany and Great Britain. Among others, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are expected. According to the Ministry of Defence, Austria has been invited as an observer, as at previous similar meetings.
Ramstein: Summit of NATO countries
A major summit meeting of the NATO countries and numerous other countries will take place on Friday at the US air force base in Ramstein, Germany. Deliveries of arms and tanks to Ukraine are discussed.
Ukraine expects “real breakthrough”
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine is hoping that the meeting of its supporters in Ramstein will result in promises of further large-scale military aid. “The Ukrainians are expecting a real breakthrough in the delivery of the most modern weapons systems from the Ramstein summit,” the former Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin told the editorial network Germany (RND).
“The biggest request to the (German) ‘traffic light’ government for the Ramstein meeting would be that Germany not only end its strange blockade stance on the Leopard tanks, but show true leadership and form a powerful tank coalition for Ukraine.”
US increases billions in aid
Immediately prior to the Ramstein meeting, the US government provided an additional $2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
With the new package, the US has provided or pledged more than $27.4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the US Department of Defense, more than $26.7 billion -Dollars thereof since the start of the Russian war of aggression in late February. The United States is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in the defense against the Russian invasion.
Further no Abrams tanks from USA
It is the second-largest individual package of this type to date. According to the Pentagon, it contains, among other things, 59 Bradley-type infantry fighting vehicles and, for the first time, 90 Stryker-type wheeled infantry fighting vehicles – but no Abrams main battle tanks.
According to the US Department of Defense, the delivery of Abrams tanks does not currently make sense. The Abrams requires different fuel than the Leopard 2 or Challenger 2 main battle tanks and is expensive to maintain, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Thursday. The Abrams had been discussed after it was reported that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had made the delivery of the US main battle tank a condition for a possible dispatch of German main battle tanks.
Poland considers delivery of Leopard 2
According to the latest information from Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Germany is not making the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine dependent on the simultaneous delivery of American main battle tanks to the country. “I’m not aware of such a link,” Pistorius told ARD on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, Poland does not rule out the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, even without the consent of Germany as the manufacturing country. Poland is ready for such non-standard action, Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told private radio station RMF FM. When asked if Poland would deliver against German resistance, he replies: “I think if there is strong resistance, we will be ready to take even such non-standard measures (…), but let’s not prejudge the facts. “
“Germans understand very well what is at stake”
In the debate about the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, the US government demonstratively backed Germany. When asked why Germany was reluctant to approve main battle tanks, the National Security Council’s communications director, John Kirby, said on US television on Thursday evening (local time): “The Germans understand very well what is at stake in Ukraine. “
Germany is one of the “largest donors” and has continuously expanded its support. “We’re grateful for what they’ve provided and we’re grateful they’re considering supplying main battle tanks — we’ll see what comes of that,” Kirby said. Germany makes sovereign decisions, adapted to the needs of the country.
