Ukraine formalizing agreements on European military aid, intelligence sharing ahead of next Ramstein summit, Zelensky says
Ukraine is working to finalize agreements with European nations for additional military aid shipments as well as expanded intelligence sharing ahead of the next Ramstein summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 28.
The next Ramstein-format meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will likely be held on April 11 in Brussels, and will be chaired by the United Kingdom.
"We agreed with some leaders on Ukraine's access to their ammunition stockpiles," Zelensky told reporters during a press conference, adding that Ukraine has reached agreements with unnamed countries for air defense and artillery production, as well as "on investments in the production of Ukrainian drones and missiles."
Zelensky noted that the pledges in support came from European allies at the Paris summit on March 27, co-led by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Ahead of the summit, France announced it would provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion).
Several European countries agreed to move forward with plans to send troops to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of the ceasefire with Russia, Macron announced at the end of the Paris summit.
Speaking to reporters, Zelensky also noted that a number of unspecified European allies agreed on "expanding Ukraine's access to intelligence data, relevant technologies, and satellites owned by our European colleagues."
The commitments from allies come as the United States under the Trump administration temporarily stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine following a heated exchange between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on Feb. 28. The U.S. had resumed sharing intelligence with Ukraine on March 12.
officials have also weighed satellite alternatives to Starlink following media reports that the U.S. had threatened to terminate Starlink service in order to pressure Kyiv to sign a minerals deal with Washington.
The additional supports come as Ukrainian, British and French general staff representatives are preparing to hold a in Ukraine within a week to discuss the potential deployment of foreign troops to the country.
Zelensky said during his press conference that United States will hold consultations with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some European countries regarding monitoring a partial ceasefire.
Starmer has maintained that for any peacekeeping coalition to succeed, Europe must "have strong U.S. backing."
Read also: Ukraine won't sign minerals deal with US if it threatens EU membership, Zelensky saysWe've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
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