Ukrainian President Zelenski participates in the meeting of defence ministers in 'Ramstein' format attended by Minister Robles

The acting Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, travelled to Brussels today to take part in the ministerial meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and in the first session of the meeting of allied defence ministers, which were held at NATO Headquarters in the Belgian capital.

During the morning and early afternoon, the ministerial meeting of the Contact Group took place, the sixteenth to be held in this format (Ramstein), in which the President of Ukraine, Volodymir Zelenski, took part in person for the first time. He thanked the defence ministers for their considerable support and commitment to helping his country, while stressing the need to maintain this effort and increase contributions of military equipment for as long as necessary until the liberation of his country.

After the Ukrainian President's speech, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin gave way to presentations on the battlefield situation by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Ukrainian and US officials, concluding with an assessment of the most pressing needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including the usual urgency for air defence assets and heavy ammunition.

Missile launchers

Later, in the session devoted to the announcement by the defence ministers of the latest contributions and future forecasts of their respective countries, acting Minister Robles stressed the importance of the presence of President Zelenski at the opening of this meeting of ministers and detailed the process of transferring the HAWK anti-aircraft missile launchers to Ukraine, announced by the acting President Sánchez, and which specifically respond to the most urgent need expressed by the Ukrainian authorities.

"The six new anti-aircraft missile launchers will be integrated into a US battery," she said.

The acting minister also announced that, in response to a specific request from the US, "associated training for Ukrainian HAWK operators and maintainers will be provided in Spain as of next month".

Robles also reported on the forthcoming delivery of 155 and 105 mm calibre artillery ammunition, in response to the urgent request expressed during the last Contact Group meeting, and announced that heavy machine guns will also be sent in a forthcoming shipment to reinforce Ukraine's anti-drone capability, given that "Russia continues to rearm with drones that it obtains with the help of other countries".

She confirmed that field rations are already on their way to Ukraine, to be followed by deliveries of electric generators and diving compressors, along with pieces of winter equipment for the fighters, as well as the continuation of training in Toledo and elsewhere, "with more than 2,000 Ukrainians trained and we can go up to 4,000".

The acting Minister for Defence said that during the meeting she expressed "the terrible shock we all feel at what happened in Israel, and the condemnation of such barbaric acts", and conveyed her solidarity "with the families of all the victims, especially that of the 19-year-old Spaniard Maya Villalobo, who was vilely murdered".

First NATO-Ukraine Council

The Contact Group ministerial meeting gave way in the afternoon to the meeting of allied defence ministers with the first NATO-Ukraine Council at ministerial level. The establishment of this Council (formerly the Commission) is historic in that it gives Ukraine a new status and places it on an equal footing for consultations and political discussions with each of the allied countries.

Interventions focused on the interoperability of Ukrainian and Alliance forces, reforms in different sectors of the Ukrainian administration, and also on the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) multi-year support programme, the Alliance's main non-lethal support tool, approved at the NATO Vilnius Summit.

In her speech, Robles highlighted the importance of the NATO-Ukraine Council in strengthening the political relationship between the two sides and underlined the importance of the interoperability roadmap in harmonising cooperation efforts between Ukraine and its strategic bilateral partners. She underlined that the holding of the Council serves as a powerful communication tool to convey unity and that "Ukrainian expectations for a future in freedom, dignity and security are much higher now than in the dark days of February 2022".

The acting minister also stated that "with the support of our Defence Industries, we will assist in the procurement of equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with the dual aim of assisting them in the counteroffensive and ensuring their defence and resilience in the future".

She also used the meeting as an opportunity to express hope that Sweden will soon be able to participate as a full member of the Alliance rather than as a guest.

On the margins of the meetings, the minister held a meeting with Portugal's Defence Minister, with whom she discussed issues of bilateral interest, including the handover of the presidency of the 5+5 Defence Initiative, with Spain taking over the presidency from Portugal in 2024, and the commitment of both countries in Africa.

Non official translation