Austin, Pistorius discuss support for Ukraine, Ramstein meeting

The U.S. and Germany’s defense chiefs, Lloyd Austin and Boris Pistorius, discussed further support for Ukraine and the upcoming meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (the Ramstein format) during a phone call on Friday.

That’s according to an official readout posted by the DoD press service, Ukrinform reports.

“Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III conducted a call today (Dec 20 - ed.) with his German counterpart, Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, to discuss continuing support for Ukraine and the upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group, scheduled for January,” the statement said.

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During the call, Austin expressed gratitude to Pistorius for his leadership and Germany’s continued substantial assistance to Ukraine in the security field.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on December 20, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had a phone call, during which the two discussed battleground developments, the prospects for continued military support for Ukraine, as well as preparation of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format) meeting.

Photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire