A high-level meeting of the Ramstein group of Ukraine arms donors has been canceled after U.S. President Joe Biden scrapped a visit to Germany this week due to the impending landfall of Hurricane Milton in Florida, two sources from NATO told RFE/RL on October 9.
The Ramstein group, also known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, was to meet while Biden visited Germany from October 10-13.
The president postponed his trip on October 8 "in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast," according to a White House statement.
Forecasters have warned the Category 5 storm, the second massive hurricane to hit Florida in as many weeks, could turn into the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century.
Milton was centered early on October 9 about 580 kilometers southwest of the city of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 260 kph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Milton is expected to make landfall later on October 9 as western Florida still reels from Hurricane Helene, which flooded streets and homes in the area two weeks ago. That storm left at least 230 dead across the southern United States.