President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Ukraine's Western allies to “not drop the ball” and continue to provide long-term military support to the country facing conflict once President Donald Trump returns to the White House. .
At the summit in Germany, Zelensky acknowledged that Trump's impending inauguration as president is likely to bring about dramatic changes. “It is clear that only 11 days from now a new chapter will begin for Europe and the whole world,” the Ukrainian president said.
He added that alongside outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, “we must work together more, trust each other more and achieve greater results together.” .
Zelenskiy warned that halting military aid “will only lead to more aggression, chaos and war.” “We've come a long way, so it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not continue to build the defensive coalition that we've built.”
He added: “No matter what's going on in the world, everyone wants to be sure that their country won't just disappear from the map.”
Mr. Austin praised Mr. Zelensky as a “leader who made history” and announced a $500 million U.S. aid package. This includes additional air defense missiles, more ammunition and other equipment to support Ukraine's small F-16 fighter fleet.
Mr. Austin suggested that the United States was determined to prevent Moscow from defeating Kiev. “For our overall security, the stakes remain enormous. If Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only increase,” he said, adding that this would lead to further international “land grabs”. pointed out.
But it is unlikely that Mr. Trump would share this analysis. He promised to end the war in “24 hours” and appointed Keith Kellogg as special envoy to Ukraine. Kellogg postponed his visit to Kyiv this week until after President Trump's inauguration.
But with Russian troops advancing eastward, President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in peace talks. The Russian president's apparent calculation is that Trump will quickly cut off U.S. military aid to Zelenskiy, which will further benefit Russia.
Thursday's meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, in which all 57 countries and 32 NATO member states participated, was held at Ramstein Air Base. This will probably be the last in its current format. Zelenskiy is scheduled to visit Italy on Friday and meet with his key partner, the country's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
President Zelensky described Ukraine's five-month offensive inside Russia's Kursk region as “one of our greatest victories.” On Sunday, Ukrainian forces launched a small offensive. He claimed that North Korean forces fighting alongside Russian forces have suffered 4,000 casualties since joining the battle last December.
The President of Ukraine also highlighted the bilateral security agreements signed by Kyiv with countries and called on partner countries to invest in Ukraine's defense industry, including the development of drone capabilities.
The UK and Latvia have announced they will supply 30,000 FPV drones to Ukraine after signing a £45m deal with the manufacturer along with a group of European countries. Funding for the effort, part of the Drone Capabilities Coalition, comes from both countries, as well as Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Ukraine has been making extensive use of small, inexpensive FPV drones on the battlefield to compensate for its lack of a conventional air force, and late last year the country announced that its military would supply 1.1 million drones to its front lines by 2024.
Defense Secretary John Healey said the Ramstein meeting “sends a clear message to President Putin about the international community's unwavering support for Ukraine.” He reiterated that Britain would spend £3 billion a year on military aid to Ukraine as long as Russian aggression continued.
In recent months, the Kremlin has stepped up shelling of civilian areas in Ukraine. On Wednesday, 13 people were killed and 113 injured in the southern city of Zaporizhia. In mid-afternoon, two Russian glide bombs hit a crowded street. Bodies were scattered next to the tram stop.
Meanwhile, Slovakia's pro-Russian government has said it will take harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine if the country's gas outage is not resolved. Ukraine ended all Russian gas shipments on January 1st.
Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico accused Kiev of undermining Slovakia's interests. He has threatened to retaliate by cutting off emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine and cutting aid to refugees.
