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US Secretary of Defense to visit Sweden followed by Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany

14 April 2023 14:43 (UTC +04:00)

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will travel to Sweden and Germany next week to meet with his counterparts and to host the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, APA reports citing US Department of State.

While in Sweden, Secretary Austin will discuss security-related topics of mutual interest between our two nations and speak with senior Swedish defense and government officials.

From there, Secretary Austin will travel to Germany where he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base. This will be the eleventh meeting of the UDCG since this group was formed one year ago following Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. At Ramstein, they will join ministers of defense and senior military officials from nearly 50 nations from around the world to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and continue our close coordination on providing the Ukrainian people with the means necessary to protect themselves against Russia's continued aggression.