Ukraine’s Leader to Attend NATO Meeting in Ramstein, Germany, Amid Tensions Over US Support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he will attend the NATO meeting in Ramstein, Germany, on Thursday, where he will hold talks with defense ministers and military commanders. Zelensky made the announcement in his daily video address on Wednesday.
The meeting, taking place at the US Air Base in Ramstein, will bring together defense ministers from the Ukraine Contact Group, including German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, and representatives from 50 other countries.
The gathering comes just days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized the significant US aid to Ukraine. The meeting will focus on further support for Ukraine’s leadership in Kiev, with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin inviting members of the Ukraine Contact Group, including Germany, to the conference.
Pistorius, in a pre-meeting warning, cautioned against scaling back support for Ukraine, saying during a SPD election event in Marburg, “If we do that tomorrow, it would be the end of Ukraine, a free, sovereign, democratic country, and who’s next?”
While Pistorius advocates for keeping the door open for negotiations, he stresses that this should not be done at the expense of Ukraine’s sovereignty, as demanded by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The German defense minister emphasized the need for the country to remain strong and prepared for defense, saying, “We must strengthen ourselves, and that’s more important than ever.