Kyiv will not fall, Russia will not win: how the West wants to prepare Ukraine for a counteroffensive
< /p>
Today, the ninth meeting in the Ramstein format is being held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The summit promises to provide Ukraine with very positive signals on the supply of new equipment, as well as consolidate the results of previous meetings, in particular, on the issue of the same tanks and ammunition.
Representatives of the defense departments gathered for a two-day summit in Brussels from more than 40 countries to confirm and probably expand military support for Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov positively assessed the mood among Western allies and hinted that the ninth Rammstein could bring Ukraine some interesting surprises.Channel 24analyzed what to expect from Rammstein-9.
Protection of the Ukrainian sky and the “air coalition”
Aleksey Reznikov outlined the main topics of the ninth meeting in Ramstein.
strong> First of all, we will talk about protecting the Ukrainian sky, and as the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine emphasized, they will do this “to attract an aviation platform”. It can be assumed that the so-called “air coalition”, by analogy with the “tank coalition”, will raise the issue of deliveries of Western fighters from a standstill. In general, the statement of NATO Secretary General Jens also speaks of the possibility of deliveries of Western aircraft Stoltenberg. On the eve of Ramstein, he said that NATO countries can supply aircraft to Ukraine, while this will not be considered direct intervention in the war, as the Russians constantly shout about it. Pay attention!Already today, Stoltenberg stressed that for now, aircraft are not a priority, because deliveries of previously agreed equipment should be completed. Most likely, we are talking about tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, which the allies have already agreed to supply to Ukraine. However, Stoltenberg stressed that the discussion of the supply of fighters still takes place within the Alliance. Instead, we will talk aboutthe importance of developing a “tank coalition”, as one of the main themes of “Rammstein”. Now different countries of the world are actively joining it. Germany is the main supplier, but the rest of the allies also provide several tanks from their own stocks. However, this is still not enough, which means that the acceleration of deliveries and an increase in the total number of tanks for Ukraine will also be discussed at the summit. Austin said that Germany, Poland, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands will supply Ukraine with German Leopard tanks. In addition, the US and the Czech Republic will provide their tanks in addition to the T-72 already received from Poland. At the same time, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands will supply Ukraine with American-made Patriot air defense systems, while France and Italy have pledged to provide Italian SAMP/T air defense systems. Among other topics raised at the meeting in Ramstein, Reznikov singled out: The meeting in Ramstein began with an opening speech by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. He recalled the words of US President Joe Biden that “Putin's invasion of Ukraine is a test for the whole world” and stressed that a year after the start of the war, the West demonstrates fantastic unity around supporting Ukraine and protecting our state from external aggression. The beginning of the meeting in the Ramstein format/photo by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Austin noted that the stakes in this war are too high, which means that Russia cannot be allowed to win this war. “Russia will not win, Kiev will not fall,” Austin said. The head of the Pentagon noted the importance of Ukraine's spring counteroffensive and assured that the allies would do everything possible to make it successful. This shared determination will keep Ukraine's momentum going over the coming weeks. The Kremlin is still betting that it can wait us out,” Austin said at a meeting in the Ramstein format. At the same time, Alexei Reznikov noted that he had already managed to personally talk with the head Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Kaisei Ollongren and thanked her for her support of Ukraine. It is important that it was to the Netherlands that Ukraine sent a request for a possible transfer of F-16 fighters. < p>On the eve of the ninth Ramstein meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made several important statements, some of which related specifically to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Given that Stoltenberg's statements were made the day before, it can be assumed that this is some kind of announcement of which direction Ukraine's allies will direct their efforts, because the Secretary General expresses the general opinion of the entire Alliance. Briefing by Jens Stoltenberg/Photo by AP Jens Stoltenberg stressed that a new large-scale Russian offensive has already begun., and Ukraine must receive all the necessary weapons as soon as possible before Russia manages to seize the initiative on the battlefield. NATO Secretary General noted that “Vladimir Putin is definitely not preparing for peace”. Consequently, any manipulations on the topic of negotiations, sometimes heard from the lips of Western leaders, simply do not make any sense. Only speeding up the supply of weapons can end this war. We see that President Putin and Russia still want to control Ukraine. And therefore, the only way to ensure the victory of Ukraine as a sovereign state is to continue to provide it with military support,” said Jens Stoltenberg. Pay attention!Stoltenberg also highlighted some of the ammunition shortages that Ukraine's allies are starting to experience. His message was precisely the need to expand military production so that the Alliance could meet both the needs of Ukraine and replenish its own stocks of weapons. Stoltenberg called on NATO members to invest more in the military industry, as the United States and France are doing today. The NATO Secretary General also noted the importance of the exercises for Ukrainian pilots.The very time needed for these exercises is one of the main issues today< /strong>. It can be assumed that NATO member countries will more actively join the retraining of Ukrainians into Western aircraft. Today, the UK has already agreed on training for Ukrainian pilots, but it is likely that other states will join this process to speed up this process. Meanwhile, in the high offices of the White House, disputes about Ukraine's ability to win back its territories do not subside. The Washington Post wrote a rather treacherous article that emphasized a certain “fatigue” of Americans from military assistance to Ukraine, in particular, it was said about some of the Republicans who are already announcing their attempts to cut spending on support for Ukraine today. The article emphasizes that President Biden himself and his aides are determined to support Ukraine for as long as possible, but they also warn the Ukrainian leadership that political pressure from the Republicans is gradually increasing, which means that support may fall when the package of support for Ukraine previously approved by the US Congress will be exhausted. However, despite this,Joe Biden and his administration are planning to visit Poland on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion and are already working with Congress to approve another $10 billion in direct budgetary and military support for Ukraine. Biden is expected to announce a new package support during this trip. However, there are no details yet, probably it is Rammstein that will determine the main directions of the new aid package. Almost simultaneously with the ninth “Ramstein”,a meeting of NATO defense ministers will be held in Brussels. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stolteberg said that< strong> Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov was also invited to take part in this meeting.
Russia will not win, Kyiv will not fall
Positive signals for Ukraine
A turning a moment in the war and a new US aid package
How Reznikov wants to convince NATO defense ministers
It is not yet clear what the fundamental difference will be between a meeting in the Ramstein format and a meeting of NATO ministers. However, perhaps Reznikov will be able to pay more attention to dialogue with representatives of specific countries and determine their possibilities regarding the transfer of certain types of weapons.
For example, on the eve of Reznikov's trip to Brussels, Ukraine asked the Netherlands for the possibility of transferring F-16 fighters, which was later confirmed by the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Kaisa Ollongren. She stated that this request of Ukraine is quite understandable, but it is not easy to fulfill it. Slovakia also spoke about the possibility of transferring MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. However, they still have to agree on this decision at the level of the European Commission and within the country.
Perhaps Alexey Reznikov will personally try to convince the representatives of some countries of the need for a first step in this direction. After all, as with the issue of tanks before, the main thing is not the volume of supplies, but the very fact of unlocking new types of weapons or equipment for Ukraine.
Related posts:
Russia is still seeking to seize Ukraine: Stoltenberg urged the West to prepare for a protracted war
NATO is preparing a plan for the transition of Ukraine to the armament of the Alliance – Stoltenberg
The West promised to help Ukraine go on the counteroffensive in the spring
Reznikov met with Stoltenberg at the Ramstein airbase: what was agreed