Ramstein-10: what arms Ukraine receives and why fighter jets are put on hold

Author

Olexandra Zakharova

On March 15, defense ministers of the Ramstein groups assembled for the tenth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. What topics are discussed, and what weapons can Kyiv obtain as a result of the meeting?

Ukraine’s needs: air defense systems, long-range systems, and ammunition

According to the General Staff of the AFU and the Military Media Center, the priority needs of the Ukrainian army are:

air defense and missile defense systems;
long-range systems;
rockets for the HIMARS and MARS launchers;
155-mm shells and 120-mm mortar shells;
kamikaze drones;
105-mm and 125-mm tank shells;
air-launched munitions.

One of the key issues on the agenda is finding an "innovative way" to provide Ukraine with ammunition. According to Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, 20,000 rounds per month are an urgent need for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other Ukrainian defense forces. Both the European Union and the United States are looking to step up military aid to Ukraine, primarily the provision of ammunition.

Lloyd Austin on aid for Ukraine — Ramstein-10 [video]

As for fighter jets for Ukraine, the issue wasn’t on the priority list since, according to foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, it’s extremely challenging with respect to logistics, maintenance, and training. However, some countries (in particular, the United Kingdom and the United States) have already agreed to train Ukrainian pilots to fly Western jets, while others (like France) are only considering it.

Moreover, Ukraine will receive MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland and Slovakia. Warsaw promised to send them within 4 to 6 weeks.

What weapons Ukraine can receive

The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin believes that the international coalition has to provide Ukraine with full capabilities for the fight ahead, which includes both new weapons and maintenance of the previously provided equipment.

According to his statements and open sources, weapons for Ukraine include:

more than 150 Leopard battle tanks provided by at least eight countries: Germany, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain (Ukraine asked for 300 tanks for the counteroffensive);
SAMP/T-Mamba anti-aircraft systems from Italy and France;
Patriot air defense systems from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands;
short-range air defense systems;
NASAMS and IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems, which have already been provided by Canada and Germany;
MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland and Slovakia.

This list is certainly not exhaustive, since the issues on the agenda suggest that Ukraine will receive more artillery and ammunition. The amounts will depend on the capabilities of the U.S. and Europe. However, the U.S. is already scaling up the production of ammunition, while the EU is considering the allocation of funds for manufacturers of ammunition to be able to help Kyiv in its war against Russia.

"This Contact Group is focused on coordinating long-term sustainment. We also need to find ways to get new donations of ammunition and air defense systems to Ukraine," Lloyd Austin emphasized.

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that for now, it’s more efficient for Ukraine to focus on ammunition and artillery rather than fighter jets, which would take months for the pilots to master.

What weapons were promised to Ukraine for the counteroffensive

After the two previous meetings of the Ramstein group, namely the ninth and tenth ones, Ukraine has been given or promised the following equipment:

NASAMS, Avenger, Patriot, and Stinger systems (the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, Latvia, Canada);
CAESAR and Archer self-propelled howitzers (France, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Estonia);
almost 800 Bradley, Marder, MRAP, Humvee, and CV90 armored vehicles (the U.S., Sweden, the U.K.);
150 Leopard tanks, as currently known (Germany, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain);
M1 Abrams tanks and Challenger 2 tanks (the U.S., the U.K.);
ammunition and projectiles (Latvia, Canada, Estonia, the U.S., and many other countries);
Patriot air defense systems and additional IRIS-T and SAMP/T systems (the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy).