At the meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein Format, held in Brussels on Friday, NATO allies agreed to provide more than 21 billion euros in new support to Ukraine, IPN reports.
"This is a record support in military aid to Ukraine. 2025 is the critical year for this war. Now is the critical time for defense industries, militaries and governments to step up aid," the UK Secretary of State for Defense John Healey was quoted by The Kyiv Independent as saying.
London has allocated 4.5 billion pounds ($5.8 billion) for Ukraine to 2025, the largest annual contribution so far. The UK and Norway have previously pledged £450 million ($585 million) in combined military support.
"Lithuania has pledged almost 30 million euros, and that means that this year, we have pledged 110 million euros, and we will, of course, reach 200 million, and probably we will go more," Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told journalists.
The Netherlands has earmarked €150 million to support Ukraine's air defenses, Dutch defense minister Ruben Brekelmans announced.
Boris Pistorius, Berlin's federal defense minister, likewise announced €11 billion in new support for Ukraine, as well as a military aid package that includes four more IRIS-T ground-to-air IRIS-T missile ground-to-air defense systems and another 30 missiles for Patriot systems, The Guardian reports.
At the same time, a new coalition was created in Brussels to support Ukraine. The new coalition will complement the existing ones to help Ukraine, it aims to streamline internal communication within the Ukrainian Defense Forces, to recognize and disrupt enemy communications, counter drones and increase the effectiveness of weapons systems.
"We need a militarily strong Ukraine. Only then can the negotiation process lead to a lasting and just peace solution," Germany's defense minister was quoted as saying in a ministry press release.
"The coalition is designed not only to meet the Ukrainian military's current needs for warfare equipment, but also to lay the foundations for the long-term development of these capabilities," Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a social media post.
Photo source: Rustem Umerov/ Facebook
