The next meeting of the contact group on Ukraine's defense in the Ramstein format will focus on Ukraine's urgent needs, in particular, on strengthening its air defense, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said during a briefing.

"At this contact group, like the others, it will all start with Ukraine providing an overview of the current security situation there and what their most urgent needs are. And so I would expect that ground-based air defense will continue to be a topic of priority discussion, as well ammunition to ensure, again, that – that they can sustain the fight. And then there will also be a discussion about F-16 training," Ryder said.

Earlier, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said that a meeting of the international contact group on providing military assistance to Ukraine in the Ramstein format would be held next week. "Strengthening air defense and missile defense remains our top priority. Ground systems – from MANPADS to powerful batteries and missiles for them are invariably in focus. In particular, we will talk about this with colleagues at the next meeting in the Ramstein format next week," Reznikov said on Facebook.