President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the Ramstein airbase in Germany on Jan. 9, delivering an opening address to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting.
Zelensky is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings during the summit, which will be the last gathering in this format before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
"It's clear that a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world just 11 days from now, when we have to cooperate even more, rely on each other even more, and achieve greater results together," Zelensky said in his opening address alongside outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Trump's imminent return to the White House has caused concern about the future of U.S. support for Ukraine, as the president-elect has often criticized the Biden administration's assistance provided to Kyiv.
During the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a $500 million aid package for Ukraine, including air defense missiles, ammunition, and equipment for F-16 fighter jets.
Around $3.8 billion remains allocated under the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), leaving it uncertain whether Trump will continue using this tool to funnel arms to Ukraine.
Speaking at the meeting, Zelensky urged the allies not to relent in helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.
"We've come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we've created," the president noted.
The UDCG comprises 57 countries, including all 32 NATO members, and was formed in April 2022 to coordinate international support for Ukraine. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz implied earlier this week that the Jan. 9 meeting might be the last one in the current format.
Zelensky highlighted bilateral security agreements Ukraine has concluded with individual countries and called on allies to invest in Ukraine's defense industry, namely in developing drone capabilities.
Ukraine's head of state further pointed to Russian hybrid operations targeting NATO countries, mentioning recent reports of damaged undersea cables or "destabilization efforts in Africa."
"We are also learning more about how Russian intelligence paid militants in Afghanistan to target coalition soldiers when your troops were present there... American soldiers, NATO country soldiers. How can this be forgiven or forgotten?" Zelensky asked.
The Insider recently published an investigation into Russian military intelligence (GRU) allegedly paying off terrorist groups in Afghanistan to attack coalition soldiers. Trump, who was president when the U.S. intelligence pointing to Russian-sponsored killings surfaced in 2020, was at the time criticized for inaction and for doubting the reports.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
