Ukrainian, US defense chiefs meet ahead of Ramstein meeting in Germany

The Ukrainian defense chief had a meeting with his US counterpart ahead of the 25th meeting of the group of Western countries on the coordination of arms supplies to Kyiv, scheduled for Jan. 9 at the Ramstein air base in Germany, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.

Citing Rustem Umerov, the ministry said on Telegram that the leaders of the coalition approved roadmaps for each of the eight areas of cooperation, which will fix strategic goals and key needs for military assistance to Ukraine at least until the end of 2027.

"I started work at the next meeting in the Ramstein format. I held a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, during which we discussed preparations for the meeting and key areas of cooperation," the ministry quoted Umerov as saying.

The day before, a delegation of the US National Security Council arrived in Kyiv to summarize the results of US assistance to Ukraine in 2024 and the planning of cooperation between the teams of the defense ministries in 2025.

The parties discussed the status of previously announced investments in the Ukrainian production of drones and the development of other joint projects in the field of the military-industrial complex. Special attention was paid to further US assistance on certain types of weapons and ammunition.