German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Jan. 7 that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, also known as Ramstein, would be held on Jan. 20.
Ramstein summits are held to coordinate efforts to provide military aid to Ukraine. They were named after the Ramstain Air Base, where the first summit was held in April 2022.
This will be the eighth Ramstein summit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The previous one was held online on Nov. 16, 2022.
The Jan. 20 summit will focus on strengthening Ukraine’s military capacities, including the delivery of armored personnel carriers and Patriot air defense systems, according to Germany’s Defense Ministry.
Germany will provide Ukraine with 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Nils Schmid, a foreign policy spokesman for the Social Democratic Party, said on Jan. 6.
Schmid said that the vehicles could be delivered in the first quarter of 2023.