During the 30th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the ‘Ramstein’ format, held in London, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized the critical need for additional air defense resources for Ukraine. According to him, the country urgently requires 10 more Patriot systems, as well as missiles for the Patriot, SAMP/T, NASAMS, IRIS-T, and HAWK systems.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“This issue is urgent, as Russia plans new strikes against our energy and infrastructure. We are grateful to Germany for purchasing two Patriot PAC-3 air defense systems”
Key Initiatives to Strengthen Defense Capability
Denys Shmyhal outlined a number of priority tasks that need to be implemented to enhance Ukraine’s defense capability. Among them:
- Activation of the PURL initiative with a clear schedule for funding and supplying weapon packages;
- Allocation of six billion dollars for the production of drones (interceptors to protect the economy and civilian population, FPV drones for stabilizing the front, as well as strike drones to target Russian military infrastructure);
- Inclusion of 60 billion dollars in the budgets of partner countries for 2026 to ensure the security of both Europe and Ukraine;
- Strengthening sanctions pressure and confiscating frozen Russian assets to reduce Russia’s resources for waging war.
International Support and New Aid Programs
About 50 countries participated in the Contact Group meeting, coordinating military support for Ukraine. Most delegations joined the meeting online; however, the Ukrainian minister, as well as the defense ministers of Germany Boris Pistorius, the United Kingdom John Healey, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, were present in London in person.
At the opening of the meeting, representatives from the United Kingdom and Germany announced new initiatives to provide military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that his country is initiating a ‘deep strike’ program and increasing support for the procurement of long-range drones for the needs of the Ukrainian defense industry. Additionally, Germany is in the process of transferring two complete Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.
UK Defense Minister John Healey announced that over the next year, the United Kingdom will finance the production and transfer of thousands of long-range kamikaze drones to Ukraine, which are being manufactured in the United Kingdom.