Ukraine to ask allies for boost to air defences at Germany meeting, Zelensky says

Ukrainian PM said dozens of partner countries will take part in meeting of the Ramstein group in Germany this week

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Berlin. Photo: dpa

Published: 10:49pm, 5 Jan 2025Updated: 12:46am, 6 Jan 2025

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will again call on allies to boost his country’s air defences at this week’s meeting in Germany, as US president-elect Donald Trump takes over later this month with a vow to end the almost three-year war quickly.

Zelensky said dozens of partner countries will take part in the meeting of the Ramstein group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday, “including those who can help boost our capabilities not only to defend against missiles but also against guided bombs and Russian aviation”.

“We will discuss this with them and continue to persuade them,” Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday. “The task remains unchanged: strengthening our air defence.”

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will attend the meeting. US President Joe Biden was originally set to attend the October summit in Ramstein but it was postponed because of response to Hurricane Milton that battered the United States.

In its last few weeks in office, the Biden administration was pressing to send as much military aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump is sworn in on January 20.

Trump claimed during his election campaign that he could end the war in one day, and his comments have put a question mark over whether the US will continue to be Ukraine’s biggest – and most important – military backer.

Zelensky said last week that Trump is “strong and unpredictable”, and those qualities can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.