Yesterday, on June 16, the third meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (unofficially known as Rammstein-3) was held in Brussels. Ukraine was represented by Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant-General Yevhen Moisiuk, and Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadym Skibitskyi.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 50 countries and international organizations. For the first time, Ecuador, Georgia, and Moldova joined the group.
Following the meeting, the Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces Mark Milley reported that:
- The West will focus on providing military assistance to Ukraine for as long as necessary;
- Germany will supply Ukraine with three sets of MLRS MARS (similar to the American M270 MLRS);
- American MLRS will be supplied to Ukraine by the end of June;
- In general, Ukraine will get ten MLRS launchers from different NATO countries with an ammunition load of 100 missiles for each system;
- Slovakia announced a "significant donation" to Ukraine of Mi-17 helicopters and rocket ammunitions;
- meeting participants discussed new donations of artillery to Ukraine from many countries, including Canada, Poland, and the Netherlands;
- In general, this refers to supplying Ukraine with another 300-400 artillery systems.
The Pentagon Chief also revealed the details of a new $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine. Ukraine, in particular, is expected to obtain:
- 18 155 mm howitzers;
- 36,000 155-mm shells;
- 18 vehicles for transporting howitzers;
- missiles for MLRS HIMARS;
- 4 vehicles for equipment repair;
- two Coast Guard systems with Harpoon missiles;
- thousands of protected radio stations;
- thousands of optical devices, including those of night vision.
Austin also said NATO countries should not derogate from their promise to supply Ukraine with weapons because the stakes are too high. He called Russian aggression a threat "not only to Ukraine, but also to European security."
Defense ministers of the United States and Ukraine call themselves friends
Ukrainian delegation in Brussels
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