US Secretary of Defense invites 40 countries to Ukraine summit in Germany

Created: 04/25/2022, 21:39

By: Bettina Menzel

A US military aircraft of the type C-17 Globemaster lands at the US airbase in Ramstein.

The US airbase is located in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, about ten kilometers from Kaiserslautern.

© picture alliance/dpa |

Boris Roessler

The Ukraine war claims new victims every day.

The United States is inviting representatives from numerous countries to a defense summit at the US Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Tuesday.

Ramstein/Rhineland-Palatinate - Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine since February 24.

In response, European countries and the US imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Kremlin.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has now invited around 40 countries to a conference on the Ukraine conflict.

The meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday (April 26) in Germany.

The US Secretary of Defense chose Ramstein, the largest US airbase outside the United States, as the venue.

Defense Summit in Ramstein: These are the participants

According to reports, the invited countries include the 30 NATO allies as well as non-NATO countries.

The US Department of Defense had emphasized that the meeting was not taking place under the umbrella of the alliance.

The participants include Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

According to the Pentagon, defense ministers and chiefs of staff from 20 countries have agreed to participate.

A press conference is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, and Christine Lambrecht (SPD), Federal Secretary of Defense, stand in front of the Pentagon.

(Archive image, March 30, 2022).

© picture alliance/dpa/AP |

Andrew Harnik

War in Ukraine: These are the goals of the Ramstein conference

One goal of the consultations is the lasting security and sovereignty of Ukraine, it said.

According to reports, there are short-term and long-term goals.

On the one hand, it is about the current needs of the Ukrainian troops to fight back the invasion of the Russian troops.

After a visit by US Secretary of Defense Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kyiv on Sunday, it was said that important information had been received about what Ukraine needed.

The details will be discussed at the meeting with the defense ministers of NATO partners and allies in Ramstein.

Experts assume that the US will coordinate arms deliveries to Ukraine.

According to the US government, Ukraine can win the war against Russia with sufficient military support.

"You can win

According to US information, the Ukraine summit on Tuesday in Ramstein will also deal with Ukraine's defense requirements beyond the current Russian war of aggression.

Apparently, the situation after the end of the Ukraine war is also discussed.

The meeting will therefore discuss how Ukraine can be further strengthened militarily after the Russian war of aggression, as Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced a few days ago.

The aim is to modernize the Ukrainian military and ensure that it remains "powerful" in the future.

At the same time, the conference is apparently also intended to deal with a long-term perspective for the country, such as security guarantees.

US pledges $800 million worth of arms shipments

US Secretary of Defense Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv shortly before the Ukraine conference.

They had promised Ukraine further military aid for the Ukraine war.

According to its own statements, the US government has pledged a total of $3.7 billion in military aid since the Russian war of aggression began in late February.

On Thursday (April 21), the United States confirmed further arms deliveries to the tune of 800 million dollars (almost 740 million euros).

"This package includes heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition for those howitzers," US President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday.

Additional tactical drones are also to be delivered.

The United States also announced on Monday that it would buy Russian-made ammunition worth US$165 million (€153 million).

Among other things, it is about ammunition for howitzers, grenade launchers, cannons, tanks and mortars, as an agency of the Ministry of Defense said on Monday.

The ammunition is very important for Ukraine to get supplies for its existing weapon systems, some of which are still of Soviet or Russian design.

However, the weapon systems of the NATO states are often not compatible with those of Russian design.