Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would again call on allies to beef up their air defenses during a meeting in Germany this week, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes power at the top of this month promising a quick end to the nearly three-year war.
Zelensky said dozens of partner countries would participate in Thursday’s Ramstein meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, “including those that can help increase our capabilities not only in defense against missiles, but also against guided bombs and Russian aircraft.”
“We will talk to them about this and we will continue to convince them,” Zelensky said in his evening speech on Saturday. “The task remains unchanged: strengthening our air defense.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin will participate in the meeting. Biden was originally scheduled to attend the October summit in Ramstein, but it surely was postponed due to the response to Hurricane Milton, which hit the US.
Over the previous couple of weeks in office, the Biden administration has pushed to send as much military aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Trump claimed during his election campaign that he could end the war in in the future, and his statements raised questions on whether the United States would proceed to be Ukraine’s biggest – and most significant – military supporter.
Zelensky said last week that Trump is “strong and unpredictable” and people characteristics could possibly be a deciding factor in his political approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
