The Ukraine Defense Contact Group met for the eleventh time at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, April 21. The first such meeting was held on April 26, 2022, also at Ramstein. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last April, senior defense officials from more than 40 countries, including all NATO member states, gathered for the first time to discuss the possibility of sending assistance to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chaired the gathering. Recent meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have had participants, representing more than 50 nations. They met in-person or by video link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Battle tanks.<\/strong> Poland will set up a hub to service Leopard battle tanks that are being sent to Ukraine, Ukraine\u2019s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday, we signed the Letter of Intent for establishment of a Maintenance and Service Center in Poland for Leopard 2 main battle tanks of Ukraine. It will contribute to the strengthening of our cooperation and the capabilities of Ukrainian defenders,\u201d Reznikov tweeted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe \u2018armored fist\u2019 formed by collaborative efforts will thwart the terrorist regime\u2019s aggression against Europe and the entire free world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The United States will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, the AP quotes the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the officials, 31 tanks will arrive at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany at the end of May, and the troops will begin training a couple weeks later. Officials said the troop training will last about 10 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What about the fighter jets? <\/strong>Asked whether there was a chance the United States had changed its mind about providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said that those were policy questions that\u2019ll be made by political leaders. From a military perspective, the task is to control the airspace, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ukraine has been \u201cdenying the airspace to effective Russian use. The Russians have been flying some sorties in Ukraine but limited amounts of sorties over Russian-occupied Ukraine. Russians have not done battlefield air interdiction deep into Ukraine territory, except through missiles and rockets that have been fired from over Russian territory, (\u2026) because the Ukrainians are shooting Russian aircraft down. So the Russians are cautious to come into Ukraine because of the effective use of the Ukrainian air defense system,\u201d General Milley said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ensuring the rigor of that air defense system \u201cis the most critical thing right now,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn terms of the aircraft themselves, there\u2019s a long lead time for training of pilots,\u201d Milley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to attend a NATO summit in Vilnius in July and had \u201cdiscussed the preparations\u201d with him. \u201cI have invited him to attend the meeting and I\u2019m glad that he has accepted the invitation and will attend the NATO Summit in Vilnius,\u201d Stoltenberg told reporters in advance of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll NATO Allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a NATO member,\u201d Stoltenberg said after his Ukraine visit. After Russia\u2019s full-scale war against Ukraine ends, the alliance needs to \u201censure that Ukraine has the military strength, the capabilities, the deterrence to prevent new attacks\u201d. \u201cThe main focus now is on how to ensure that Ukraine prevails,\u201d NATO Secretary General emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen the war ends, we need to ensure that history doesn\u2019t repeat itself, that Russia is not able to continue to attack and to wage war again against Ukraine and to continue to chip away at European security,\u201d Stoltenberg said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the night of April 20 into April 21, Russia launched Iranian-made Shahed drones on Kyiv, in the first such attack after 25 days. Ukrainian troops intercepted eight drones. Russia also launched drones at targets in Poltava region, where they hit civilian infrastructure facilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/230421-D-TT977-0211-1024x683.jpg\")
Zelenskyi to attend NATO summit in Vilnius<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Russia launches Shahed drones overnight on Kyiv<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Gender dynamics in the context of war. Ukraine in Flames #407<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n