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​Ramstein-9 Meeting on Ukraine Aid: Main Points of Discussion Revealed, Aircraft Issue Raised Once More

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It looks like at the next Ramstein meeting, there would be no place for discussing which fighter is the best fo Ukraine / Illustrative photo credit: NATO Allied Air Command
It looks like at the next Ramstein meeting, there would be no place for discussing which fighter is the best fo Ukraine / Illustrative photo credit: NATO Allied Air Command

Ukrainian Minister of Defense named the main topics for the upcoming meeting of Ukraine's allies

This time around, the discussion will concern bolstering Ukraine's air defense capabilities, combat aircraft included, and expanding the so-called "tank coalition", as informed by Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov who has departed for the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to meet with his colleagues from more than 50 countries.

In addition, the issues regarding ammunition supply, accelerating logistics, maintenance and repair of military equipment, training of Ukrainian personnel, will be raised as well.

Read more: Why Britain Believes That It Won’t Be Possible to Quickly Provide Ukraine With the Eurofighter Jets
Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter
Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter / Photo credit: Cpl. Matthews, UK Ministry of Defense

No doubt, the issue of combat jets for Ukraine will cause the most controversy, as it is a pressing matter for Ukraine, especially after the talks about Eurofighter in the UK and F-16 in the Netherlands became more specific.

At the same time, some skepticism, in this case, is fairly reasonable, as long as the issue of providing planes to Ukraine remains a hard decision for the West to make. Although we should also remember that the same was true for tanks just a few months ago, it was "completely off the table" at the time, until eventually all doubts were gone.

For example, in June last year, President of France Emmanuel Macron, when asked about transferring some kinds of weapons, said the following:

"It is almost an official position of NATO partners. We help Ukraine defend itself, but we do not enter the war against Russia. Therefore, it was agreed not to supply certain weapons, such as assault aircraft or tanks," he said, as quoted by Ukrinform. And then became the first who announced the transfer of AMX-10R "light tanks" to Ukraine half a year later in January 2023. This announcement may have become a catalyst for the supply of main battle tanks as well soon afterward.

AMX-10R combat vehicle is basically a
AMX-10R combat vehicle is basically a "wheeled tank" / Open source illustrative photo

In other words, some decisions tend to change, although this process does not go without a hitch, as Berlin demonstrated with his reluctance to send Leopard 2 till the bitter end. However, even this was changed, not without pressure from other countries.

That is why the combat aircraft topic is definitely "on the table". But even if the positive decision is agreed upon, it would be too optimistic to expect the jets to come protect the Ukrainian skies in the near future.

For starters, Ukraine would need to prepare airfields, train Ukrainian pilots and technicians, and most importantly, provide air cover from the ground which requires Patriot SAM systems to complete deployment and enter combat duty beside air bases.

Patriot surface-to-air missile system
Patriot surface-to-air missile system / Illustrative photo credit: NATO/OTAN website
Read more: Defenders of Ukraine Shot Down Next russia’s Attack Aircraft in Bakhmut’s Sky on Saturday (Video)