The Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine is meeting today at the US air base in Ramstein (Germany) with attention focused on a possible supply of long-range weapons to Kiev, an issue that still raises divisions among the allies.
This meeting, the 11th, marks the first anniversary of this group created and led by the United States, which currently comprises around 50 countries.
On the eve of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will also be present in Ramstein, made his first visit to Kiev since the beginning of the war.
At the meeting that Stoltenberg held on Thursday in Kiev with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the supply of long-range weapons dominated part of the conversation, and the leader of the Atlantic Alliance promised to take care of the matter at today’s meeting in Ramstein.
Stoltenberg reminded Zelensky that the approximately 50 countries involved in the Contact Group are not all convinced about the imminence of delivering long-range weapons to Kiev, just as they remain unwilling to hand over fighter jets to the Ukrainian army, even if it is solely to protect Ukrainian cities from air raids commanded by Moscow.
Zelensky instructed the Ukrainian team that will participate in the Contact Group meeting to explain the needs of the Ukrainian army in view of “the preparation of important next steps”, words that were interpreted by the analysts as a reference to the eventual and future Kiev counter-offensive against Russian forces.
Throughout this week, the Ukrainian press reported that President Zelensky had several meetings with military commanders to gather precise information to transmit to the Ukrainian delegation that will be present today at the American air base in Ramstein, where several ministers of Defense from countries will also be present. involved in helping Kiev, including the Portuguese minister, Helena Carreiras.
“I have been directly involved in several preparatory meetings of the Contact Group. We expect solid decisions that meet our needs on the ground”, said Zelensky, quoted by the electronic edition of the Odessa Journal.
Alongside long-range weapons, the issue of sending state-of-the-art fighter planes will be discussed again at this new meeting in Ramstein, with the Ukrainian delegation insisting on the creation of a “coalition of fighter planes”, where they would like to see the United States included.
The intention and the expression “coalition of fighter planes” were repeated last week by the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denis Shmyhal, when he met with the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, in Washington, at the Pentagon.
On that occasion, Lloyd Austin – who will chair the Contact Group meeting – told the Ukrainian Prime Minister that the matter would be discussed again in Ramstein.
The so-called “Ukraine Defense Contact Group” (original name in English) was created in April 2022 at the Ramstein base, with the participation of defense ministers from more than 40 countries, including Portugal.
The Russian military offensive in Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
*With Lusa
