The 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base ended with an important assurance that Ukraine's skies would not be left unprotected.
"Our partners have assured us of further provision of more missiles for our air defense systems," the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine officially stated.
Read more: Ukraine Expects €912 mln Worth of Military Aid From Germany and Belgium Coming Out of Ramstein Meeting
This announcement was a response to several headlines in the Western media which questioned the reliability of the supply of surface-to-air missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, especially since there's no more stable assistance from the United States. In particular, even the last aid package worth $300 million contained only the FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS.
But now there are options for transferring SAM missiles to Ukraine, and the Ramstein meeting could help to avoid a possible shortage of missiles for air defense.
"The participants were informed that the F-16 aircraft training activities are going according to plan," the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated.
This reassurance is especially important in light of recent deadline extensions for the arrival of the fighter jets from spring to summer 2024.
Main focus was centered around the topic of ammunition. During the meeting, "a very large number of countries" announced aid packages containing a variety of artillery ammunition in calibers from 105 to 155 mm, including Soviet-design shells, the Ministry notes.
Also, according to the official announcement, several more countries have joined the "drone coalition," established a little while ago, it is expected to produce first results by the end of March this year. That is when the first drones purchased under this international initiative will strengthen the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Earlier Defense Express reported about Ramstein-20 meeting results and some decisions that might help to avoid shortage of SAM missiles.
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