April 26, the 21st meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine took place in the Ramstein format. About key topics, President Vladimir Zelensky’s address to those present and the results of the meeting — read in the material Facts ICTV.
- Zelensky’s address at Ramstein
- Key themes of Ramstein
- Austin Statement on the F-16 and ATACMS
- Ramstein results
Zelensky’s address at Ramstein
In his address to the participants of the Ramstein format meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, President Vladimir Zelensky named the key needs of Ukraine — Air defense, long-range weapons, artillery and shells, as well as weapons production both in partner countries and in joint projects.
So the head of our state noted that Ukraine needs at least seven Patriot complexes for protection.
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“We need the capabilities to shoot down their warplanes so that they do not approach our positions and the border.” It's possible. Just as it is possible to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles. We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelensky emphasized. This is something that can and should save lives right now. “We need at least seven Patriots to keep our cities safe,” he said at the beginning of Ramstein.
The head of state also noted the need for long-range weapons, which will make Russians not feel safe in any part of the occupied territory of Ukraine.
Speaking about artillery and shells, he emphasized that now the imbalance of Ukrainian and Russian forces in artillery is 1:10, and this situation encourages Russia think about a counteroffensive.
In addition, Zelensky called for maximum attention to be given to the production of weapons.
— Our state has the capabilities to produce drones, this would increase the financial viability of Ukraine. We also need electronic warfare systems – this would really strengthen our capabilities, — he said.
Key themes of Ramstein
The main issues discussed at the 21st meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine were Air defense, armored vehicles and artillery.
For his part, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov thanked his colleagues for their support these two years.
– Together with President Vladimir Zelensky, we called on our partners to provide the necessary weapons and discussed logistics issues, he wrote on Facebook.
Austin Statement on the F-16 and ATACMS
The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, before the start of the meeting in the Ramstein format, said that the first F-16 fighters will begin arriving in Ukraine this year, along with trained pilots and personnel who will maintain the aircraft.
—More squadrons of donated F-16s will begin arriving in Ukraine this year, along with pilots and support personnel trained by members of this Contact Group, Austin said.
After the completion of Ramstein, he stated that the long-range ATACMS missiles that the United States gave to Ukraine were not a miracle weapon in war, but they did provide the ability to carry out long-range strikes.
– We have previously allocated ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. Various types, different ranges. I will not go into detail about exactly what missiles we have allocated and how the Ukrainians will be able to use them. The main thing is that they have opportunities,” Austin said.
Ramstein results
The United States announced the transfer of a $6 billion military aid package to Ukraine.
It will include:
- anti-drone agents;
- artillery shells;
- air-to-surface missiles;
- material and technical support.
At the end of the summit Austin announced the transfer of a US package to Ukraine worth $1 billion.
It includes, according to the head of the Pentagon, additional ammunition for HIMARS, 155-mm shells, air defense and armored vehicles.
Also, the head of the Pentagon did not rule out the supply of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine from the United States.
— About Patriot. We will see. But we continue to work in this direction, purposefully. All countries that have these systems understand how important they are,” he said.
Austin noted that “there are many other air defense systems that the United States is trying to deliver to Ukraine faster”.
