According to the results of the 5th meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine at Ramstein Airbase in Germany, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said that during the meeting the course for long-term support of Ukraine was enshrined, the words “sustain, long-term and training” became the focus of the discussion.

“Only 50 days passed between Ramstein-4 in July and Ramstein-5. During this period, our American partners announced 5 packages of security assistance for a total amount of almost $5.5 billion. During the meeting, another package for $675 million was announced. It contains very important projectiles for HIMARS and other things that will come in handy during active fighting,” he said on Facebook.

The minister added that the increase in the scale of assistance, as well as the successful actions of the Ukrainian defense forces had a significant impact on priorities.

“Firstly, along with the growing supply of weapons, there comes a question regarding its repair and maintenance. We are talking about spare parts, a repair base and necessary specialists. Secondly, the countries of the free world did not prepare for a full-scale war on the continent reminiscent of the Second World War. Due to this, the resources of operational assistance which can be provided by our partners at the expense of reserves are limited,” Reznikov noted.

He also stated that Ukraine demonstrated “the kremlin evil can be vanquished,” and all the branches of the defence forces of Ukraine under the command of General Valeriy Zaluzhny “proved in action the things which no one could believe before.”

“All this implies a correction in strategy. I drew the attention of all those present that the key words this time were ‘sustain’, ‘long-term’, ‘training.’ Moscow still has a lot of resources. Victory will not come instantly. But it will definitely come. That is why the task of organizing cooperation in the medium and long-term perspective comes to the fore. In order to give guidelines to our partners, in my speech I focused on the perspectives for year 2023,” he noted.

At the same time, in order to restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders, in addition to successful defense and stabilization of the front line, it is necessary to make successful counter-offensives, as Reznikov stressed. To do this, according to him, the defense forces of Ukraine, first of all – the Armed Forces of Ukraine – must acquire appropriate capabilities in qualitative and quantitative terms.

“We cannot talk about all the details right now. But among the most important priorities is the development of a three-tier air defence/anti-missile defence system. A clear vision in this regard was formed thanks to the successful actions and based on the experience of the Ukrainian Air Force under the command of Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, whose arguments I presented to the partners,” the minister of defense said.

According to him, consistent efforts are already being made to activate the work of the defense industry to replenish reserves in the countries of the free world and the ability to systematically support Ukraine.

In addition, Reznikov said that at the meeting, “we were pleasantly surprised by Slovenia, which offered very strong support.” According to the minister, it will be “a real reinforcement on the battlefield just when it is needed.”

I had the honor to thank our Slovenian partners, Dr. Damir Črnčec and Major General Robert Glavash.

“I expect to promote several projects during the visits of our foreign colleagues to Ukraine, which will take place in the near future. We are preparing certain surprises,” the minister said.