The latest package of military support for Ukraine from its Western allies is focused on providing combat capability that Ukrainian forces can use immediately on the battlefield, the Pentagon’s spokesman said on January 20 as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group met in Germany.
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U.S. Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the additional military equipment announced by the contact group -- including air defense systems, Humvees, ammunition for artillery, and missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) -- will help Kyiv’s forces make progress defending Ukrainian territory and take back territory occupied by Russia.
The package of weapons is intended to “make a difference to change the equation on the front line,” he said, though it does not include the Leopard 2 tanks that Ukraine has requested.
Ryder spoke in an interview with Alhurra television on the sidelines of the contact group meeting at the Ramstein U.S. Air Base, where defense ministers and other representatives of 54 countries gathered for talks aimed at coordinating the military aid they are sending.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other top Ukrainian officials have pleaded with allies to send Leopard 2 tanks, but the meeting ended without a commitment to send them.
Germany, which must approve sending the German-made tanks from the NATO countries that have them, has not made a decision on whether to do so, newly appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. Ryder referred questions about sending the tanks to German officials but touted the package overall.
“I would say the most important thing here is that there's not one single capability that's key to victory in the campaign that Ukraine is…conducting to defend its nation,” Ryder said.
The security assistance -- particularly the assistance from the United States -- is focused on giving Ukraine combat capability that they can use right now on the battlefield, he said.
It also is aimed at helping Ukraine during the spring, when a new offensive by Russia is expected, he said.
Ryder also discussed the training of Ukrainian military personnel in Germany, saying battalion-level combined-arms maneuver training integrating the Bradley Fighting Vehicle has already begun.
The training combined with the package announced on January 20 “is going to give Ukraine a mechanized armor, mechanized infantry capability that will change the equation on the battlefield,” Ryder said.