Ukraine hopes US will participate in next Ramstein meeting in February

According to Umerov, Kyiv wants the United States to "remain and strengthen its presence" during future Ramstein meetings.

“We have already noted that we are planning the next Ramstein meeting for February,” said the minister.

“There are various formats, as you know we established the NSATU [a NATO-led format], and there are several European countries interested in leading or co-leading this effort because it is done in cooperation with Ukraine. Therefore, I currently do not see any problems since we have already agreed on the next Ramstein meeting.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that the next administration will decide whether to continue participating in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

“The future administration must make its own decision,” Austin said.

“We want to ensure that we do everything possible to continue support.”