Ramstein summit: Zelensky calls for new weapons against Russia!

An important meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the defense ministers of the Ukraine Contact Group took place at the US Air Force Base Ramstein. The aim of the conversation was to discuss further support for Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia. Zelensky announced talks that would focus in particular on the delivery of additional weapons to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses. The meeting was attended by, among others, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas.

Political scientist David Sirakov expressed the assessment that this could be the last meeting in this format. In the run-up to the conference, the announcement of a new US military aid package is expected before Donald Trump takes office on January 20th. These developments come in the shadow of Russian air strikes on Zaporizhia that left at least 13 people dead and over 60 injured. The attacks targeted an industrial facility and damaged several buildings and vehicles, prompting Zaporizhzhia city authorities to order a day of mourning.

New aid for Ukraine

Before the meeting in Ramstein, Germany had already announced support for Ukraine in the form of 10,000 artillery shells from the Bundeswehr. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that the ammunition package was worth around 500 million euros. In the current year, Germany has already provided support worth seven billion euros to Ukraine. In addition to the artillery shells, 100 armored vehicles for the infantry and 100 transport vehicles are also to be delivered.

Germany is also committed to financing the purchase of 180,000 pieces of artillery ammunition through a Czech ammunition initiative. An additional initiative includes the provision of 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, which is scheduled to begin this year. This was confirmed by Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, who emphasized international support for Ukraine and underlined the need not to let Ukraine fail. Austin also noted the need to help build the Ukrainian army and spoke about forming capability coalitions.

The debate about Germany's support for Ukraine is criticized by Chancellor Olaf Scholz as ridiculous and embarrassing. Before the meeting in Ramstein, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry emphasized that the priorities were additional anti-aircraft systems, artillery shells, modern electronic warfare systems and armored technology. The Ramstein Contact Group, founded in April 2022, plays a central role in organizing Western arms assistance to Ukraine, although there are disagreements among Western partners over the extent of arms supplies.