Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the Ramstein airbase in Germany on Sept. 6 to take part in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, APA reports citing The Kyiv Independent.
In a rare step, Ukraine's head of state is attending the 24th meeting in person to lobby for faster aid deliveries. The U.S.-led group, consisting of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, was set up to coordinate allied defense deliveries to Kyiv as it faces Russian aggression.
As customary, the Sept. 6 meeting is to be chaired by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. It will be the first meeting in nearly three months, with the last one taking place on June 13.
Austin promised that the meeting would address Ukraine's most urgent needs, namely air defense capabilities to counter Russian drone and missile attacks.
According to Der Spiegel, Zelenskyy also plans to push the allies to deliver more long-range arms. Kyiv has said that Western restrictions on strikes within Russia and the insufficient supplies of long-range weapons hamper Ukraine's ability to strike back against Russian attacks.
As part of his visit to Germany, Zelenskyy is expected to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Frankfurt am Main.
"I will take part in the Group’s meeting and meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius," Zelenskyy said on X.
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