Pentagon chief opens 17th Ramstein meeting

The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which again brought together the defense chiefs from about 50 countries, kicked off in a video conference format.

The meeting was opened by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

" We're focused on supporting Ukraine as it continues to fight through this winter and defend its critical infrastructure," said the head of the U.S. Department of Defense.

He recalled that the United States and Germany announced in Kyiv their new defense aid packages. They included missile, anti-tank, and other weapons systems, as well as munitions.

According to him, the current meeting will discuss how to meet other urgent needs of Ukraine, as well as discuss ways to help build the future of the Ukrainian Army. Special emphasis will be placed on expanding the capabilities of Ukrainian air defense systems.

"We've already organized coalition's focused on building up Ukraine's Air Force and its information technology capabilities, and today we'll discuss the progress that's been made since our last meeting in developing a new capability Coalition on ground-based air defense," the chief of the Pentagon noted.

This is the 17th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group focused on coordinating international efforts to support Ukraine in the field of security and defense in wartime. The inaugural meeting took place in April last year at the US Air Force base Ramstein in Germany.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Monday, the U.S secretary of defense made an unannounced visit to Ukraine, where he met with the top political and military leadership. During meetings in Kyiv, he was briefed firsthand on the latest frontline developments, as well as on the actual needs of the Ukrainian Army.