What Ukraine got after the 15th Ramstein meeting: weapons and talks about the counteroffensive

Author

Artur Gmyria

What Ukraine got from the 15th Ramstein meeting

The new Defense Minister Rustem Umierov’s first Rammstein meeting ended on September 19, 2023. According to the U.S. Defense Secretary, the main issue on the agenda was long-term support for Ukraine.

Defense ministers from 50 countries who attended this 15th meeting of the Ramstein Group also discussed Ukraine’s counteroffensive. So, what weapons was Ukraine given after this meeting, and how do the allies assess our counteroffensive?

The counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces makes "steady progress"

This was the opinion U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd James Austin III expressed. He underscores that "time is not on Putin’s side," and that valiant Ukrainian warriors are breaking through the fortified defensive belt. Ukraine’s counteroffensive dominated the agenda of the Ramstein Group meeting.

"The Ukrainians have penetrated several layers of this [Russian] defense. It is not 100 percent penetrated yet, but they've penetrated several of the layers, and they're going very slowly, preserving their combat power and very deliberately through this defensive belt. There's plenty of combat power remaining, and the Ukrainians have absolutely no intent to stop," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley, sharing the American perspective on the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

He added that he was holding consultations with General Zaluzhnyi one to two times a week, and another U.S. general physically meets with the Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief frequently.

What weapons were promised to Ukraine?

The American delegation expects the first batch of M1 Abrams battle tanks to arrive in Ukraine soon.
The United Kingdom will supply Ukraine with "tens of thousands" of additional artillery rounds this year. For comparison, last summer, Ukraine used seven to eight thousand rounds per day in Donbas alone.
A new aid package provided by Germany worth €400 million will include 30,000 rounds of 155-millimeter artillery ammunition, 200 armored MRAP combat vehicles, 480 АТ2 missiles, and 50 surface drones.
Lithuania provides detonation systems, naval surveillance radars, and ammunition for Carl Gustaf antitank grenade launchers.
The Czech Republic will send Ukraine 15 modernized T-72 battle tanks. Moreover, the Czechs agreed on the long-term provision of their own weapons to Ukraine with the financial support of Denmark and the Netherlands.

By the way, this is not the first project of this kind for the Czech Republic. As part of a trilateral agreement with the United States and the Netherlands, 45 (out of 90) modernized T-72 battle tanks have already been delivered to Ukraine.

Representatives from the defense ministries of the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Photo: Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

Air defense is Ukraine’s greatest need

Lloyd Austin noted that after the Russians withdrew from the Grain Deal, they fell to a new low and started targeting Ukrainian grain.

"So, air defense will continue to be Ukraine’s greatest need to protect the skies, its civilians, and its cities," said Austin.

He stressed that ground-based air defense has also been one of Ukraine’s success stories throughout the war. He urged the allies’ leaders to donate more air defense as Ukraine heads into another winter of war.

Germany still hasn’t given Ukraine long-range TAURUS missiles, and the United States continues to withhold the ATACMS, despite Ukraine’s repeated requests for these missiles to aid in its counteroffensive.