Ukraine to receive military aid from allies.
In Germany On January 9, the 25th meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine was held, attended by officials from more than 50 countries.
The meeting was held at the German air base “Ramstein” under the chairmanship of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who headed it for the last time before leaving his post.
The meeting was attended by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
Read what the leaders decided at the meeting in the “Ramstein” format in the TSN.ua material.
The final military aid package from Biden
The United States of America announced the latest aid package to Ukraine from the administration of current President Joe Biden. Its amount is 500 million dollars.
The press release of the US Department of Defense specified that the military aid package, the cost of which is estimated at 500 million dollars, includes:
“This is the 74th military aid package provided by the US President Joe Biden administration from the Department of Defense stockpiles for Ukraine since August 2021,” the Pentagon added.
Military aid strategy for Ukraine until 2027
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov noted that during the meeting with Lloyd Austin it was possible to discuss preparations for meeting and strategic directions of cooperation.
One of the key results of the meeting was the approval of “road maps” for cooperation in eight areas, defining strategic goals and key needs for military assistance until the end of 2027.
“These documents, developed and agreed upon jointly by Ukraine and partners, will form the basis for support and assistance in such areas as air defense, artillery, armored vehicles, drones, air force, maritime security and other important areas,” Umerov emphasized.
The minister noted that much work remains to be done to implement the agreed plans.
Assistance from allies
Great Britain and NATO member states will send 30,000 FPV drones.
This will become possible after the conclusion of contracts for 45 million pounds sterling by the international coalition Drone Capability Coalition, Ukrinform reports with reference to the press release of the British government.
The transfer of FPV drones to Ukraine will take place thanks to funding from the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia and Sweden.
The British government indicates that these state-of-the-art FPV drones will help Ukraine fight Russian aggression, allowing the Armed Forces of Ukraine to maneuver past Russian air defense to attack enemy positions and armored vehicles.
Also, allies and partners have committed to allocating more than 190 million pounds sterling in additional funding for the International Fund for Ukraine, managed by the UK.
Germany will also provide Ukraine with additional guided missiles for the Iris-T air defense system to strengthen its defense against Russian attacks.
This was announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. According to him , these missiles were originally intended for the Bundeswehr, but now they will be redirected from production directly to Ukraine.
Canada allocates money for the purchase of ammunition, and Poland will transfer tanks
The Canadian Department of Defense announced the allocation of about 330 million US dollars (440 million Canadian dollars) in military aid to Ukraine, Ukrinform reports with reference to ministry.
They noted that ammunition remains one of Ukraine's key priorities, which is why Canada is allocating $200 million to the Czech initiative to purchase and deliver large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine.
Another 50 million Canadian dollars will be used to purchase various ammunition from Canadian manufacturers.
In particular, the Minister of Defense also promised to allocate 100 million dollars for the “Danish model” of supporting the production of drones by the Ukrainian defense industry.
In turn, the Minister of Defense of Poland Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the provision of a batch of tanks within the framework of the relevant coalition.
“Poland is preparing another support package for Ukraine, another donation. What is possible, we always donate,” he wrote on the social network “X”.
The largest military aid from Norway
Norway will send more than two billion euros in military aid to Ukraine in 2025.
This is the largest military aid in the history of the region, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine reported Rustem Umerov reported on Facebook.
“Together with Mr. Gramm (Norwegian Defense Minister, – ed.) we discussed priority areas for using this aid. We paid special attention to the issue of strengthening air defense systems – this is a critical area, and we count on support from Norway,” Umerov noted.
Norway will continue to invest in the Ukrainian defense industry and joint projects, in particular in the production of ammunition.
Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gramm said that the Scandinavian country allocated 700 million Norwegian kroner (about 61.3 million US dollars) for the initiative to purchase drones for Ukraine, Ukrinform reports, citing a press release from the Norwegian governments.
In particular, the head of the Norwegian Defense Ministry said that Norway is contributing to the new supply of drones in cooperation with Great Britain and the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU).
What Zelensky spoke about
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his speech at the Rammstein meeting, said that cooperation between the aggressor Russia and North Korea demonstrates the weakness of the Russian “Fuhrer” Vladimir Putin. In addition, Pyongyang is studying modern warfare using the example of the Russian Federation.
The President emphasized that the Russian and North Korean regimes “do not value their people, they are losing them.”
During the meeting, the head of state called the “Kursk operation” one of the main victories not only last year, but throughout the war.
At the Ramstein base, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The main topics of the meeting were the need to strengthen Ukraine's air defense and involve NATO countries in purchasing Ukrainian weapons based on the Danish model.
Zelensky also named an instrument that will force Putin to peace. According to the head of state, this is the deployment of a foreign contingent on the territory of Ukraine.
According to him, Great Britain positively perceives the initiative launched by France to send an international contingent to Ukraine as part of security guarantees.
He noted that such an initiative will become part of security guarantees for Ukraine.
“The British are positive. But I will discuss this in detail with the Prime Minister at our meeting. It will take place – he will visit Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters following his meetings in Germany and Italy. .
The President added that there are already serious decisions between Ukraine and Great Britain, which will be announced later.
Zelensky also noted that during the meeting, Ukraine's partners guaranteed the provision of a significant number of air defense systems to protect the Ukrainian sky.
“It is guaranteed that there will be additional (air defense – ed.) systems, 19. Is it guaranteed that it will arrive? That is, we have confirmation, we have support. There are not all 19 systems yet, I will say frankly, but a fairly significant number of guaranteed partner systems. We will now work to ensure that the systems arrive as quickly as possible,” Zelensky said in a comment to journalists.
In particular, he noted that some “very serious” air defense systems are undergoing restoration.
“Therefore, the question of tools is how to restore certain systems faster,” the head of state clarified.
Next meeting
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz suggested that the meeting in the “Ramstein” format could be the last, but changed his mind. He expressed hope that such meetings would continue to take place after the change of US administration.
Subsequently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the next meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense in the Ramstein format would take place in February.
He said this in a comment to journalists in Italy, talking about the results of the 25th Ramstein meeting.
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