U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said ahead of a meeting of Ukrainian and allied defense ministers in western Germany on September 19 that Ukraine was making "steady" progress in its three-month-old counteroffensive against invading Russian forces, as Kyiv looked to leverage reports of recent gains into renewed international commitments of weapons, ammunitions, and support.
The meeting in Ramstein, Germany, of military and defense leaders from more than 50 countries is the 15th gathering of the so-called Ramstein format.
But it's the first for Ukraine's new defense minister, Rustem Umerov, who was appointed as part of a reshuffle in which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was seeking "new directions" in the 18-month-old full-scale war.
Reuters quoted a senior U.S. defense official as saying the Ramstein setting was an opportunity "to hear from minister Umerov himself what his vision is, what his priority is."
"Democracies like Ukraine have...turnover in leadership all the time," the unnamed official said. "We do expect continuity [from Kyiv]."
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Lloyd said that the "counteroffensive continues to make steady forward progress" and added at the opening of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, "And brave Ukrainian troops are breaking through the heavily fortified lines of Russia's army of aggression."
He added that Ukraine would "soon" receive M1 Abrams tanks from the United States that were promised earlier this year as part of a $43 billion pledge of U.S. security assistance.
"I'm...pleased to announce that the M1 Abrams tanks that the United States had previously committed to will be entering Ukraine soon," Austin said, according to AFP.
Austin also cited a "long road ahead" and asked allied defense leaders to "dig deep" to provide greater air defenses to Ukraine.
"Air defense is saving lives," Austin said, according to AP. "So I urge this group to continue to dig deep on ground-based air defense for Ukraine. We must continue to push hard to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems and interceptors."
Soon after Austin spoke, Reuters cited Danish news agency Ritzau as reportinging that Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced that Copenhagen would donate 45 more tanks to Ukraine: 30 Leopard 1 tanks and 15 T-72s.
Western militaries have already pledged around 100 advanced Leopard 2 tanks, along with 14 Challenger 2 tanks supplied by Britain and 31 M1 Abrams tanks from the United States.
Zelenskiy is expected to use his speech before the 78th UN General Assembly to urge the United States and other allies to step up military and other contributions to the fight against Russia's unprovoked 18-month-old invasion.
Pressure from the United States and other allies has reportedly mounted on Ukraine to demonstrate success amid criticisms about the pace of the Ukrainian military's push to retake Russian-occupied areas of southern and eastern Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Zelenskiy explained a defense reshuffle that included replacement of his defense minister and six deputies by saying "new approaches" were needed in the war. He plans to meet with senior U.S. lawmakers and other officials in Washington later this week.
After his arrival in New York, Zelenskiy visited a hospital where seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers are treated, presenting some with medals for courage.