For the first time since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the countries providing military support to Ukraine will hold a meeting in the “Ramstein” format. The official agenda of this meeting in Brussels on Wednesday will be new arms deliveries to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, the participants will mainly discuss the future of this format. The meeting will be the first official event of the new Defense Minister Pete Hegseth in the international arena.
The “Ramstein” group held its first meeting at the US airbase in Germany in March 2022 and was established to coordinate US-led arms deliveries to Ukraine. The group consists of around 50 countries, mostly NATO members. During this time, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chaired the meetings and announced new military aid packages for Ukraine. The new Defense Minister Hegseth left the US to attend the meeting. However, this meeting will see some innovations. First of all, for the first time, the meeting will not be chaired by the US Secretary of Defense; this task has been handed over to UK Defense Secretary John Healey. Moreover, Hegseth is not expected to announce a new aid package for Ukraine. Instead, he will call on European allies to take the lead in supporting Kiev. According to a Pentagon press release, Hegseth will reaffirm Trump’s commitment to a swift diplomatic resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. Some within NATO were concerned that Trump could halt military aid to Kiev and end the “Ramstein” format. Hegseth’s statements may therefore not fully allay these concerns. After the last meeting in early January, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the general atmosphere was not positive due to the difficult situation in Ukraine and war fatigue. Hegseth will also call on NATO allies to increase defense spending and develop the defense industries of both sides. The US, on the other hand, plans to focus on confronting China in the Asia-Pacific region.
