U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Sept. 6, 2024. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleas for long-range weapons meant to strike deeper into Russia were met with a cool response from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday at a gathering of more than 50 nations involved in planning military aid to war-torn Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, who made his first in-person appearance for the latest meeting at Ramstein Air Base, asked for armaments he said were needed to take back territory in the eastern Donetsk region from Russia.
In recent weeks, Moscow launched some of its most devastating air attacks on Ukraine since beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 6, 2024. It is the first time the head of the Ukrainian government attended the meeting at the U.S. military base in person. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
“We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” Zelenskyy said. “We need to make Russian cities and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or Putin.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is hosting the meeting, said following Zelenskyy’s morning speech that “we hear your urgency and we share it.”
But during afternoon remarks, Austin rebuffed the idea of enabling Ukraine to expand its battle on Russia’s turf.
From left, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian defense minister, open the 24th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 6, 2024. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
“I think for the foreseeable future we’re going to remain focused on … doing those things that will enable them to be effective in defending their sovereign territory,” Austin said.
Austin added that no one capability will prove decisive in the war, a point he’s made at previous meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group when countries providing security assistance were reluctant to deliver specific weaponry.
However, the U.S. and other nations have repeatedly provided tanks, fighter aircraft and other weapons that were once considered off the table out of concern for expanding the war and endangering NATO allies.
For now, Austin maintained that Ukraine has “a pretty significant capability of its own” to address targets that are out of range of its air defense arsenal
Earlier, Austin said President Joe Biden will announce Friday an additional $250 million security package for Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, left, walks to meet with reporters during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meetings at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 6, 2024. Pistorius said his government pledged to deliver 12 additional Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to Ukraine, with six arriving before year's end. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
With winter approaching, “time is of the essence ... we must all step up our support and quickly,” he said.
Since 2022, the U.S. has provided $56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. Other member nations have contributed a combined $50 billion worth of weapons, aid and training.
Zelenskyy on Friday referenced Ukraine’s recent occupation of part of Russia’s Kursk region, which is seen as a bid to force Russia to shift its resources out of Ukraine’s eastern regions. But so far, Russia hasn’t made a concerted push to remove Ukrainian forces from its territory, which lies far from Moscow and major Russian cities.
“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants more to occupy Ukraine than he wants security for Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “He doesn’t care about Russian land and people.”
The U.S. is also focused on resourcing a variety of air-to-ground missiles that newly delivered F-16 fighter jets can carry, according to the Associated Press. They include the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which could give Ukraine a longer-range cruise missile option, said Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, who spoke to reporters traveling with Austin.
Bill Blair, Canada's defense minister, gives remarks during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meetings at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 6, 2024. The first Ukrainian fighter pilot cohort has begun training in Canada this week, Blair said. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
No decisions on the munition have been made, LaPlante said, noting that policymakers would still have to decide whether to give Ukraine the longer-range capability.
“I would just put JASSM in that category, it’s something that is always being looked at,” LaPlante said, according to the AP. “Anything that’s an air-to-ground weapon is always being looked at.”
Zelenskyy and his defense minister, Rustem Umerov, pressed the group in closed-door discussions Friday for permission to use long-range weapons inside Russia, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair told reporters.
Canada supports that request, he said.
“They have made it very clear to us is that they are suffering significant attacks from air bases and military installations located within Russia,” he said. “Those attacks are aimed at their cities, their citizenry and their critical infrastructure.”
Fearing further escalation of the war, the United States so far has allowed Ukraine to strike only limited areas in Russia with U.S.-provided weapons.
Blair added that Canada has begun training future Ukrainian F-16 pilots, noting that the first group of 14 arrived in Canada this week.
The gathering Friday comes a little over a week since Russia launched its largest airstrike since the full-scale war began in February 2022. The attack, carried out over two days, knocked out power in several cities and killed at least 50 people, according to Ukrainian officials.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the meeting that Germany will deliver 12 more Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to Ukraine, for a total value of about $166 million.
German forces also have trained over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers and aims to finish the training for 10,000 more troops by the end of the year, he said.
Pistorius reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses, highlighting the delivery of 10 missile systems from its stocks.
“The position of Germany is clear. We will support Ukraine as long as necessary,” Pistorius said, emphasizing Germany’s role as the second-largest supplier of security assistance to Ukraine.
The delegates to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have come together 24 times since Russia launched its war on Ukraine more than two years ago. This is the seventh time they’ve met at Ramstein.
Zelenskyy has addressed the group virtually in the past at the gathering, which is held at the Ramstein Officers’ Club. He did previously appear in person at a meeting of the group in Brussels.
