Air Defense and Maritime Coalitions for Ukraine: outcomes of the 17th Ramstein

In the 17th meeting in the Ramstein format, Ukraine received more military assistance and commitments from its Western partners to repel Russia’s military aggression.

New coalition of ground-based air defense for Ukraine

Ukrainian defense minister Rustem Umerov said that a new coalition of ground-based air defense was formed at the meeting. The leaders are Germany and France, and the coalition includes 20 nations.

The Netherlands has prepared 2 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine.

Estonia is providing half a million dollars for the IT coalition in addition to Luxembourg’s commitment of 10 million euros.

The United Kingdom and Norway will look for ways to further enhance security in the Black Sea as part of the Maritime Coalition.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of a coalition for the development of air defense following a meeting in the Ramstein format.

“Today, a regular meeting in the Ramstein format was held – the 17th. There are new packages of support for Ukraine – our soldiers. This includes shells and missiles, electronic warfare and drones, and new capacities for our air defense. A corresponding coalition has been created – the Air Defense Development Coalition. Germany and France are the leaders in its organization,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine’s air defense is constantly being strengthened.

“Not everything can be told publicly yet, but the Ukrainian air shield is getting stronger literally every month,” Zelensky said.

A new coalition of ground-based air defense includes 20 nations (Ground-Based Air Defense), led by Germany and France. Following the German Defense Minister’s visit to Kyiv, $1.4 billion in aid has already been announced, including IRIS-T guided missile systems, 8,000 new anti-tank mines, one set of Patriot systems, and additional 155mm artillery ammunition, all of which should be delivered by mid-December.

Umerov: weapons provided by partners help Ukraine to change the situation at the frontline

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov invited the defense ministers of partner countries to pay official visits to Ukraine to ensure that the assistance they provide is used effectively.

At the opening of the meeting, Umerov said that Russia had lost almost 36,000 troops in the past 6 weeks, and that the weapons provided by partners – including HIMARS systems, Storm Shadow, SCALP, ATACMS missiles, Abrams, Challenger, and Leopard tanks – had changed the situation at the frontline.

The 17th Ramstein meeting was held in a virtual format. Defence ministers from about 50 countries discussed, among other things, strengthening Ukraine’s air defence.

Pentagon chief emphasized the need to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure

The meeting was opened by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The Pentagon chief emphasized that the countries participating in Ramstein are focused on supporting Ukraine as it “continues to fight through this winter and protect its critical infrastructure.”

Austin spoke about the need to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs, help build the future of the Ukrainian army, and strengthen air defense.

“We have already organized a coalition focused on building Ukraine’s air force and its information technology capabilities, and today we will discuss the progress that has been made since our last meeting on developing a new Ground Air Defense Coalition,” Lloyd Austin said.

Ramstein meeting format

Ramstein is a series of diplomatic meetings of defense ministers from dozens of countries to synchronize and accelerate the provision of weapons to Ukraine to counter a full-scale Russian invasion and to discuss support for Ukraine after the war. The group includes representatives from over 50 nations.

The first meeting was held in April 2022 at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.

As a result of the previous, 16th Ramstein meeting, Ukraine received $500 million in aid.