Air defense, Patriot and ballistics: what the allies decided at Ramstein

At the next meeting in the Ramstein format, Ukraine received new packages of military assistance, and the partners agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of air defense and weapons production.

This was discussed during the open part of the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

One of the main topics was countering Russian ballistic missiles. Zelensky said that Ukraine needs more Patriot systems and missiles for them, and also called on partners not to delay the supply of weapons, because sometimes they are needed literally a few days before new Russian strikes.

Ukraine and Germany are also launching a joint project in the field of anti-ballistic defense. Seven German defense companies are already ready to join it, and Kyiv has called on other partners to join this work.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Berlin will transfer a three-digit number of air-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr warehouses to Ukraine. In addition, Germany has already transferred another IRIS-T system and accelerated the delivery of IRIS-T SLS and SLM missiles.

Germany will also allocate $200 million for the purchase of additional PAC-3 missiles under the JumpStart program and another $200 million to support the PURL program. According to Pistorius, Germany will continue to regularly supply Ukraine with drones and long-range ammunition.

Separately, Zelenskyy asked allies to invest more actively in Ukrainian production of drones, long-range weapons, and ammunition. According to him, a strong Ukrainian army is a security issue not only for Ukraine, but also for all of Europe.

During the meeting, the UK announced that the new aid package would include 350 missiles for air defense systems, radars, 150 Ukrainian-made drones, as well as funding for the purchase of 200,000 long-range artillery shells, 100 Patriot missiles and one million Ukrainian drones. The total cost of the package is 1.852 billion pounds.

The participants of the meeting also confirmed that they will continue to focus on three key areas of support for Ukraine – strengthening air defense, developing the production of Ukrainian drones, and supplying long-range ammunition.