The US and European allies met at the US Ramstein airbase in Germany to discuss stepping up military aid for Ukraine.
Contributions of state-of-the-art artillery and other systems, mainly from the US, have helped turn the tide of the war. And today’s meeting saw the US contributing an additional $675 million (€677 million) in heavy artillery for Ukraine.
The “Ukrainian Defence Contact Group” was set up after Russia invaded the country in February.
With Kyiv launching a counter-offence, the US defence secretary Lloyd Austin indicated the West would increase support to help it succeed.
“The face of the war is changing and so is the mission of this contact group. We will work together to train Ukraine’s forces for the long haul. We will work together to integrate Ukraine’s capabilities and bolster its joint operations for the long haul,” Austin said.
Austin continued: “We’ll work together to upgrade our industrial bases to meet Ukraine’s requirements for the long haul and we’ll work together for production and innovation to meet Ukraine’s self-defence needs for the long haul.”
The defence secretary also voiced his praise for the “demonstrable success” of Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.
But the allies face a challenge in maintaining that level of arms supplies. Recently, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, warned that European weapons stocks were running low and urged EU nations to act together to replenish their arsenals.
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