Regular meeting in the Ramstein format starts in Germany: Umerov attends the event

Today, September 19, a regular meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense in the Ramstein format started in Germany. This is the 15th meeting of the group, which brings together defense ministers and senior military officials from Ukraine's partner countries offline.

This time, for the first time, they were joined by Rustem Umerov, who was recently appointed to the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine. This was reported by Radio Liberty.

"A meeting in the Ramstein format will be held at the German air base today. Journalists will not be able to get there on their own - they are being gathered nearby, a Radio Liberty correspondent reports. On the spot, they are searched with dogs and only then put on special military buses that will take the media to the air base. For the first time, the new head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, will take part in this format," the journalists said shortly before the meeting.

At about 11 a.m. Kyiv time, it was announced that the meeting had begun.

It was reported on August 31 that the 15th meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's defense would be held in person at the Ramstein air base on September 19.

"Secretary Austin (Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin - Ed.) has again invited defense ministers and senior military officials around the world to discuss the current crisis in Ukraine and the various security challenges facing U.S. allies and partners," the press service of the U.S. Air Force in Europe reported at the time.

This time, the heads of defense ministries of Ukraine's partner countries were joined for the first time by Rustem Umerov, who was appointed Minister of Defense of Ukraine on September 6. A few days before the meeting, he had coordinated his positions with the Pentagon chief.

Austin himself arrived in Germany to participate in Ramstein the day before, on September 18.

"I'm on my way to Germany to host the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. I will be meeting with coalition partners from nearly 50 countries to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, security assistance, and to strengthen our support for Ukraine in its fight to defend its sovereignty," Austin wrote on the social networking site X, formerly known as Twitter.

However, neither Austin nor Umerov, who also noted that the main focus of the Defense Ministry is currently on Ramstein, disclosed details on what issues and needs of the Ukrainian army will be prioritized this time.

Instead, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told reporters before the meeting that the meeting would be "great."

"It's going to be a great meeting," General Milley told a Radio Liberty correspondent before the start of Ramstein. The head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Rustem Umerov, and his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, also arrived at the air base," Radio Liberty writes.

The previous meeting in the Ramstein format took place in June of this year.  At that time, Umerov's predecessor as Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said that he had received commitments from the allies to start training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and new military aid packages. In the face of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces received new reserves and training from the world's most powerful armies.

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