U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to meet on January 9 with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, and is expected to announce another large package of military aid as part of the outgoing Biden administration's goal to send as much support as possible before President-elect Donald Trump returns to office.
An announcement of an additional $500 million in weapons to Ukraine is expected to be made during the meeting, according to news reports on January 8 quoting unidentified officials.
“Our focus will be on maintaining momentum, delivering results, and sending a clear message: The international community stands resolute in its support for Ukraine,” Austin told reporters traveling with him to Germany.
Austin will meet with the contact group, which is made up of about 50 partner nations that Austin brought together to coordinate weapons support months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A senior defense official who briefed reporters traveling with Austin said the weapons in the new package will be drawn from U.S. stockpiles and the goal is to get them into Ukraine before the end of the month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on January 8 that he would attend the meeting and said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was already in Ramstein.
"The key task for Ukraine is to strengthen our air defense to at least enable Ukraine to keep the Russian air force away from our cities and borders," he said.
SEE ALSO: At Least 13 Killed, Dozens Injured In Russian Strike On ZaporizhzhyaThe meeting comes a day after Ukraine suffered one of its worst single losses of life in weeks -- an attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhya that killed 13 people. Authorities believe Russian carried out the attack using glide bombs aimed at an industrial site.
Ukraine claimed earlier on January 8 that its forces hit an oil depot inside Russia that served a strategic air base in the southern Saratov region. The Ukrainian military’s General Staff said the strike created serious logistical problems for Russian aviation and significantly reduced its ability to strike Ukrainian cities and civilian objects.
Members of the contact group have said the January 9 meeting could be the last one as its fate remains unclear under Trump.
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The outgoing U.S. administration has been working to get as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump takes office on January 20 to improve Kyiv’s negotiating position. Trump -- who has repeatedly criticized U.S. assistance to Kyiv -- has claimed he could quickly negotiate and end to the war after he returns to office.
This has raised fears in Ukraine that any hastily arranged negotiations would be used by Russia to hold on to Ukrainian territory it occupies and allow its troops to rest and rearm.
Austin said it is important for the contact group to continue providing military aid. He told AFP after landing at Ramstein that he hopes it will “because it's not over."
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also warned against the West slacking off on support for Ukraine.
"If we do that tomorrow, it would be the end of Ukraine, a free, sovereign, democratic country, the day after tomorrow. And who comes next?" Pistorius said on January 8 at an election campaign event in the central German city of Marburg.
He said he was very much in favor of "always leaving the doors open for negotiations." It must be possible to talk about peace at any time, but not on the terms that Russian President Vladimir Putin has set," Pistorius added.