US won't attend in person, but will join online: How Ramstein meeting on April 11 will unfold
- Open Media Ukraine
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Today, on April 11, another Ramstein meeting will take place at NATO headquarters. Despite reports suggesting the possible absence of the US, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin will participate in the session online. The agenda includes strengthening Ukraine's air defense, new arms deliveries, and the development of defense-industrial cooperation. RBC-Ukraine informs.
Main points:
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will gather at NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 11.
The meeting will begin at 10:30 AM Kyiv time.
The meeting will be co-led by the United Kingdom and Germany.
Reports suggesting that the United States will miss the Ramstein meeting have not been confirmed. The Pentagon chief will participate online.
Key topics for Ukraine: strengthening air defense, additional arms deliveries, and involving allies in the development of the defense-industrial complex.
What is known about the meeting
Brussels is hosting the 27th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known as Ramstein. The session will be led by the defense ministers of the UK and Germany, John Healey and Boris Pistorius.
"On 11 April the United Kingdom and Germany will convene the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO HQ," reads the announcement on the North Atlantic Alliance portal.
This will be the first Ramstein meeting for Germany as the leading country and the second for the UK.
Thus, the new administration of US President Donald Trump has handed over leadership in this format to European allies, a format initially created by former Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and consistently led for nearly three years.
Ahead of the meeting, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the key goal of the Ramstein-27 meeting as the mobilization of greater military aid and support for Ukraine in its fight against full-scale Russian aggression.
Meeting agenda
The NATO portal published the schedule for the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on Friday (times are listed in Kyiv time):
09:30 – Arrival of participants and opening statements
10:30 – Official opening of the meeting with statements from the chairs
12:45 – Official group photo of the Ramstein participants
13:00 – Ceremony for the signing of a letter of intent to create a coalition for the development of electronic warfare capabilities
13:30 – Joint press conference
The Ramstein meeting will take place the day after the Coalition of the Willing talks, another format of cooperation among Ukraine's allies.
Ukraine's expectations and goals
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined key topics for Ukraine at the Ramstein meeting:
supply of additional air defense systems, including Patriot systems;
discussion of new defense assistance packages;
the possibility of opening weapons manufacturing plants in Ukraine;
coordination between countries willing to engage in long-term defense cooperation.
"We will discuss critical issues—Patriot systems, air defense, additional defense packages, and the cooperation of countries willing to set up weapons manufacturing lines in Ukraine," Zelenskyy announced the agenda for the meeting.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who will lead the Ukrainian delegation at the meeting, also confirmed that one of the main topics will be the enhancement of air defense.
"Ukraine needs a sufficient number of modern systems like Patriot. A political decision is required for the supply of these systems to protect our cities, villages, and, most importantly, our people from the threat of Russian ballistic weapons. These systems are available from our partners," said the head of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.
Another important issue is industrial cooperation and the establishment of joint defense production with allies. According to Umerov, this will allow Ukraine to strengthen its production base and ensure continuous support for the front.
Will the US be at Ramstein
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will join the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) on April 11 in an online format. This was confirmed by a Pentagon official to AFP.
An anonymous source from the Pentagon said that Secretary Austin plans to participate in the UDCG meeting on Friday, April 11, via video conference.
This information came amid reports that the US would miss the Ramstein meeting for the first time, a format they helped establish in 2022.
Earlier in April, Defense News reported that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would not attend the upcoming meeting of the Contact Group, either in person or online. It was also claimed that the Pentagon was unlikely to send the senior representatives who typically accompany the secretary on such trips.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also commented on the potential absence of the US at Ramstein, expressing the view that if the US were to miss the meeting, it would not signal a withdrawal from any participation in such initiatives and would not affect the ongoing military aid to Ukraine.
During the last Ramstein meeting on February 12, 2025, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth was present but no longer chaired the session, unlike his predecessor Lloyd Austin.
At that time, Gegset made several bold statements regarding the war in Ukraine. In particular, he announced that the return of Ukraine's borders to the 2014 status was unlikely and that Ukraine's NATO membership was unrealistic.
Ramstein format: 3 years since the first meeting of allies
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group began its work almost three years ago. The first meeting took place on April 26, 2022, at the US Air Force base in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany, which gave the format its name.
With the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, then-US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin initiated the gathering of allies willing to join Washington in providing military assistance to Ukraine's Defense Forces.
Austin led the Ramstein format from its first meeting until his resignation following the inauguration of the new US president, Donald Trump, in the winter of 2025. The only time the Pentagon chief missed a meeting was due to health reasons while undergoing cancer treatment.
In total, around 50 countries participated in the UDCG. Allies met 26 times, both in person and online. Ramstein played a key role in coordinating international aid and removing restrictions on the transfer of advanced weaponry to Ukraine.
During the existence of the format, coalitions were formed, through which Ukraine received advanced weapons systems, including Himars artillery, PzH 2000, Leopard and Abrams tanks, Patriot, HAWK, and IRIS-T air defense systems, F-16 and Mirage fighter jets, long-range missiles, and more.
Нагадаємо: Чехія передала Україні всі свої танки Т-72М1.
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