President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Germany to attend the Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) on Sept. 6, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported on Sept. 5.
The U.S.-led group, consisting of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, convenes at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The meeting on Sept. 6 will be the group's 24th meeting since its establishment in April 2022.
According to Der Spiegel's sources, Zelensky wants to attend the meeting in person to outline how serious the battlefield situation is and to ask for more weapons deliveries, "especially long-range missiles and more air defense."
During a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Zelensky said on Sept. 2 that Ukraine has not yet received all the weapons promised by the West.
"We need not only permission, but we also need (the actual weapons). We have not received everything we want to use," Zelensky said.
Zelensky was referring to the fact that while Western countries have largely allowed Ukraine to use their arms in the Kursk incursion, the U.S. and the U.K. have maintained their restrictions on the use of long-range missiles like ATACMS or Storm Shadow to hit deep inside Russia.
Permission to use certain long-range arms on Russian soil depends on the U.S., the U.K., France, and Germany, which have relevant drones and missiles, he added, adding that "he permission alone is not enough today."
Francis Farrell
