'Ramstein' countries raised $88B in security assistance to Ukraine over nearly two years - Austin

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated this on Tuesday following a meeting of the Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Over nearly two years, this Contact Group has generated more than $88 billion in security assistance commitments to Ukraine," Austin said.

He noted that this includes 15 U.S. allies who are committing to Ukraine more than the U.S. as a share of their GDP.

"Our allies and partners continue to step up, and the United States must also," the Pentagon chief said.

He noted that the Contact Group continues to focus on two tracks.

"First, we are working together to provide near term support for Ukraine’s troops. And second, we’re hard at work with Ukraine's leaders to plan its long term defense and deterrence," the U.S. Secretary of Defence said.

He continued that the work on long-term support builds on the efforts of the Capability Coalition to help Ukraine build a robust fighting force for the future.

According to him, the Capability Coalition will help and enable friends of Ukraine to coordinate joint support for years to come.

In this regard, he said that on Tuesday he had held the first meeting of the Capability Coalition Steering Group, which added unity to the efforts and goals of the eight coalitions of countries supporting Ukraine. Thus, during the current meeting, the progress made was discussed and further ways to address key issues were coordinated.

Austin thanked the representatives of Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom for their joint work.

“They have all stepped up to lead the Capability coalition and to commit resoures and personnel to this critical task. And their leadership is a testament to the unity and resolve at Ramstein today,

He also stressed that support for Ukraine is "crucial" for the United States itself. According to him, when the US invests in Ukraine's security, it invests in its own security.

As reported by Ukrinform, the 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group took place on Tuesday at the Ramstein base in Germany. The event was attended by defense ministers and senior military leaders from about 50 countries.