Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umеrov participated in the 15th meeting in the "Ramstein format" of the Contact Group on Defense Issues for Ukraine, which took place on September 19th at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The heads of defense agencies from approximately 50 countries discussed further military assistance to Ukraine in repelling armed aggression from Russia.
The Minister of Defense of Ukraine called on his colleagues to continue supporting Ukraine and outlined Ukraine's priority needs.
Once again, partners reaffirmed their commitments to support Ukraine.
The Ukrainian delegation also briefed partners on the current situation around Ukraine and in temporarily occupied territories held by Russian forces, the progress of operations, and combat actions by Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Participants in the Contact Group on Defense Issues for Ukraine announced security assistance packages. They are primarily directed towards developing the capabilities of the Ukrainian Defense Forces for air and missile defense, aviation support, maneuverability, and overcoming engineering obstacles on the battlefield.
Additionally, as a result of the meeting, Ukraine, Estonia, and Luxembourg launched an IT coalition, joined by Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, and Latvia.
The key outcome of the IT coalition should be the creation of a unified digital ecosystem for combat management and the management of defense resources for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
In addition, the defense ministers agreed to initiate the establishment of the Capabilities Coalition.
The primary goal of this coalition is to prepare the Ukrainian Defense Forces for the future. To achieve this, the Ministry of Defense has identified five clusters that will require top priority attention: air defense, artillery, aviation, naval forces, and armored vehicles.
